The U.S. House unanimously passed a bill that requires federal banking regulators to simplify reporting requirements for community banks.
The Community Bank Reporting Relief Act (H.R. 4725), sponsored by Reps. Randy Hultgren (R-IL), Andy Barr (R-KY), and Terri Sewell (D-AL), focuses on regulatory relief for quarterly reporting requirements found in the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income or the “Call Report.”
“I think we can agree that our federal banking regulators should have regular updates on the overall performance and health of financial institutions. However, this does not mean federal banking regulators need regular reports about every single data point on every single financial institution,” Hultgren said. “Washington needs to get out of the way so community banks can focus on meeting the needs of our communities. The role of smaller financial institutions is especially important in more rural areas, such as my district, where larger banks tend to not have as many branches.”
Banking regulators use data in the Call Report to monitor the performance and risk profile of each institution and assess the overall condition of the banking system. The report has grown from 18 pages in 1986 to nearly 85 pages today for some community banks.
This bill would allow banks with less than $5 billion in assets and meet other criteria to submit an abbreviated report of their condition semiannually rather than quarterly.