The South Carolina Bankers Association works closely with the South Carolina Congressional delegation on issues that affect banking in South Carolina. Senator Graham and Senator Scott represent the entire state. Click the link below to find and contact your House member of Congress as well as learn more about federal legislation.
The following are top federal legislative issues SCBA is working on:
Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act (H.R. 3139; S. 2371)
The Access to Credit for our Rural Economy Act, (ACRE), removes the taxation on interest income earned by a lender on farm real estate loans and home mortgage loans in rural areas and towns of less than 2,500.
SCBA supports ACRE as it will:
- Lower the cost of credit for farmer and ranchers
- Enhance competition for agricultural and rural housing credit
- Help sustain access to local credit in rural America
By removing this taxation, community banks would finally be able to match the pricing of lenders that already benefit from this tax treatment for rural loans. This will lower interest rates, thereby expanding access to low-cost sources of credit in rural communities.
Credit Unions
Presently there are no pending bills concerning credit unions. However, SCBA supports and encourages the following actions and communications:
- Congress should Convene Hearings on the Community Benefit of the Credit Union Tax Exemption
Congress last examined this issue in 2005; oversight is necessary to determine whether 21st century credit union industry practices align with its Depression-era mission. - Urge Congress to Require Metrics Around Credit Union Service to Low-Moderate- Income Communities
Congress should scrutinize whether credit unions are meeting their statutory objective of serving low and moderate income communities in a robust, demonstrable way. - Oppose Further Credit Union Expansion Efforts.
Congress should oppose legislation seeking to expand credit union powers and enhance its oversight of the NCUA.
Debit and Credit Card Interchange/Durbin Amendment
The Credit Card Competition Act of 2023 (S. 1838) seeks to expand the Durbin Amendment routing requirements to credit cards. Technically the bill requires banks with more than $100 billion in assets to offer merchants multiple credit card processing networks from among a list of networks determined by the Federal Reserve, not the card issuer. However, just like the Durbin Amendment, this bill will negatively affect community banks, as well as increase fraud risks as retailers would now be free to use cheaper and less secure routing networks.
SCBA is opposed to the Credit Card Competition Act.
Stablecoin
To ensure effective consumer protection and financial stability, it is critical that the stablecoin ecosystem, like the banking ecosystem, is subject to strong regulatory oversight by the federal government. Any legislation that creates a regulatory framework for stablecoins should establish a level playing field for banks and nonbanks, encourage financial stability, and promote strong consumer protections.
There is no comprehensive federal framework for regulating stablecoin issuers. SCBA supports Congress developing such a framework, and this is a stated priority for the House Financial Services Committee.
TRIGGER LEADS
“Trigger leads” are unwanted calls, texts, emails, and mail solicitations from lenders a bank customer has no relationship. When that customer applies for credit and consents to a credit check, the bank pulls their credit report to evaluate their application. This “triggers” the credit reporting agency to identify that the customer is shopping for credit and the credit reporting agency then sells the customer’s information to other lenders who do not have a relationship with the bank or customer, and who then contact the consumer to market prescreened credit offers.
SCBA supports the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (S. 3502 and H.R. 7297). Both bills eliminate mortgage “trigger leads” and limit prescreened credit offers to consumers who consent or who have a preexisting relationship with a financial institution.
Helpful Federal Links
Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee
House Committee on Financial Services
Congress.gov – Links to federal legislation as well as other Congressional activities.
Please contact Neil Rashley with SCBA with any questions you may have on federal legislation at (803) 779-0850.