House bill would improve coordination between federal, state bank regulators

U.S. Reps. Roger Williams (R-TX) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) are sponsoring legislation to improve the efficiency of banking supervision.

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The Bank Service Company Examination Coordination Act (BSCECA) of 2021 would allow regulators at each level of government to share the results of their regulatory exams. This is designed to enable banking regulators to communicate and resolve the current inefficiencies between state and federal coordination.

“This legislation promotes good governance by allowing regulators at each level of government to share the results of their regulatory exams,” Williams said. “As the risks to our financial system get more advanced each day, we must ensure there are open lines of communication and that we are using our limited resources efficiently as we look for new vulnerabilities within the banking system.”

Charles Cooper, the commissioner of the Texas Department of Banking, said state regulators have substantial expertise gained by overseeing 79 percent of U.S. banks. Increased state-federal coordination will make the financial system more secure, Cooper added.

“State bank regulators support enactment of the Bank Service Company Examination Coordination Act, which will enable better state-federal information sharing and exam coordination on banks’ third-party vendors. By working together, state and federal regulators can better mitigate risks for a financial institution and its customers and protect the stability of the entire banking system where state regulators oversee nearly four in every five U.S. banks. We thank Representatives Meeks (D-NY) and Williams (R-TX) along with Senators Cramer (R-ND) and Sen. Warren (D-MA) for advancing this important legislation,” John Ryan, president and CEO of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, said.

A similar bill was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Cramer and Warren.