WASHINGTON–The House Financial Services Committee has voted to reject an amendment to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, while advancing two bills that update reporting thresholds, both of which have the support of credit unions.
The interest rate cap amendment, which is strongly opposed by credit unions, was offered to HR 7056 by Rep. Maxine Waters (R-CA), but it was ruled “not germane” to the underlying legislation and not adopted, according to America’s Credit Unions, which said it had representatives on hand for the markup.
As the CU Daily reported here, there had been reports ahead of the markup that such a cap would be proposed. The 10% cap proposal has brought together odd bedfellows, with support from not just Democrats who include Waters, but also President Trump.
Ahead of the markup, America’s Credit Unions and the Defense Credit Union Council had sent letters expressing support for the threshold increases, while also calling on the committee to reject any amendments that would establish a national credit card rate cap or alter the credit card interchange system.
The Bills That Are Advancing
The legislation that advanced during mark-up include, according to America’s Credit Unions:
- The Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act (H.R. 1799), sponsored by Rep. Barry Loudermilk’s (R-GA), which would update the Currency Transaction Report (CTR) threshold to $30,000 (up from $10,000), increase the Suspicious Activity Report threshold to $10,000 (up from $5,000), and ensure the CTR threshold is periodically adjusted for inflation. It passed 30-24
- The Community Bank Regulatory Tailoring Act (H.R. 7056), sponsored by Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), which would update asset thresholds in the Federal Credit Union Act and other areas of financial law (by a 33-21 vote). This includes raising: The asset threshold for small credit unions would rise to $34 million (up from $10 million), while the asset threshold for the large credit union audit requirement to $2 billion (up from $500 million). The thresholds are also increasing under the Dodd-Frank Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and Federal Home Loan Bank Act.
