S. 4450: Financial Access Protection Act

The bill titled the Financial Access Protection Act proposes several key changes regarding how covered financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, handle information about consumers' citizenship and immigration status. Below are the main provisions of the bill:

Prohibition on Information Collection

The bill stipulates that covered financial institutions are prohibited from:

• Requiring consumers to disclose their citizenship or immigration status to open, maintain, or access any financial account or service.
• Requesting, collecting, recording, retaining, or otherwise obtaining information about a consumer's citizenship or immigration status.
• Transmitting or disclosing this information to any federal, state, or other governmental entity.

Limiting Regulatory Actions

Furthermore, the bill restricts federal banking agencies from:

• Requiring or encouraging financial institutions to collect or maintain information on consumers' citizenship or immigration status.
• Conditioning regulatory ratings, enforcement actions, or other decisions on whether a financial institution collects or reports this type of information.

Enforcement of Prohibitions

Each federal banking agency is assigned the responsibility to enforce these prohibitions in relation to the covered financial institutions.

Compliance with Existing Laws

The bill includes a provision clarifying that nothing in this legislation will alter the obligations of financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act or impede their ability to comply with financial crime prevention laws, including those related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

Definitions of Covered Financial Institutions

The term "covered financial institution" includes:

• Insured depository institutions (banks)
• Insured credit unions
• Consumer reporting agencies
• National and state banks, as well as bank holding companies supervised by federal agencies.

Overall Effect

The overall aim of the Financial Access Protection Act is to enhance consumer access to financial services by removing the requirement to disclose citizenship and immigration information, while the bill reaffirms compliance requirements with existing federal laws aimed at preventing financial crimes.

Relevant Companies

• JPM - JPMorgan Chase & Co. may need to revise its data collection practices and compliance programs according to the new restrictions on information gathering.
• BAC - Bank of America could also face changes in how it collects and handles consumer data in compliance with this bill.
• WFC - Wells Fargo may need to adjust its operational procedures and reporting to ensure adherence to the new regulations proposed in the bill.