The House Financial Services Committee (FSC) introduced legislation intended to revitalize new bank formation in local communities operating under tailored regulatory regimes that support safety and sound operation.
The Main Street Capital Access Act (H.R. 6955), sponsored by FSC Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), would support de novo banks that would, in turn, act serve as community lenders to families, small businesses and local economies.
According to a fact sheet published by the FSC about the legislation, its aim would be to restore “regulatory fairness, transparency, and right-sizing” while also promoting a “healthy, growing, and competitive banking industry.”
Specifically, the bill would seek to support de novo formation by lowering the barriers to entry for new banks by “phasing-in capital requirements and providing certainty around regulatory approval of mergers and acquisitions.” The bill also would promise to fix the bank resolution framework for failed banks to promote competition and limit market concentration in the banking sector, while protecting depositors and the economy.
Among other things, the legislation also would aim to improve the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (CBLR) framework to encourage more institutions to opt-into the framework and allow well-managed community banks to maintain safe capital levels without being subject to unnecessarily complex risk-based capital rules.
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey Following Romero Rainey said the legislative package will help community banks promote prosperity in local communities in every corner of the nation.
“As the only national association that exclusively represents the nation’s community banks, ICBA has worked closely with Congress and the administration to advance policies that will transform the regulatory environment to support community banking and economic growth in rural, suburban, and urban markets,” Romero Rainey said in a statement. “Following the Financial Services Committee’s efforts throughout 2025 to advance numerous pro-community bank bills, we look forward to continuing to work together to move the comprehensive Main Street Capital Access Act through Congress to amplify the value that our nation’s community banks bring to local economies nationwide.”
A central theme throughout the fact sheet is the contention that the Dodd-Frank Act has been unfair to small and mid-size banks by subjecting them to similar regulatory scrutiny as much larger, more complex institutions. The fact sheet claimed a more tailored approach to bank regulation is something that has seen bipartisan support since Dodd-Frank’s enactment.