About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

H.R. 2209, a Bill to Require the Appropriate Federal Banking Agencies to Treat Certain Municipal Obligations as Level 2A Liquid Assets, and for Other Purposes 1 (January 15, 2016)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo2734 and id is 1 raw text is: 




                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
                             COST ESTIMATE

                                                                  January 15, 2016


                                  H.R.   2209
A  bill to require the appropriate   federal banking   agencies  to treat certain
  municipal   obligations  as level 2A liquid  assets, and for other  purposes

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on November 4, 2015


H.R. 2209 would require the federal banking regulators-the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal
Reserve-to  revise regulations concerning the treatment of municipal bonds in bank
portfolios.

Specifically, H.R. 2209 would require the FDIC, the OCC, and the Federal Reserve to
allow large banks with more than $250 billion in consolidated assets or $10 billion in
foreign assets and any subsidiaries of those institutions with assets of at least $10 billion to
treat highly rated municipal bonds as liquid assets. Liquid assets are used to calculate the
amount  of liquid reserves an institution must have to cover the cost of its operating cash
flows for 30 days (this requirement is known as the liquidity coverage ratio). Based on
information from the OCC, CBO  estimates that less than 5 percent of the value of
municipal bonds is held by banks subject to such regulations and it is very unlikely that
small changes in the liquidity of assets held by certain large banks would lead to a bank
failure resulting in costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund. As a result, CBO estimates that
enacting this provision would have no significant cost.

H.R. 2209 would require the FDIC, the OCC, and the Federal Reserve to amend current
regulations. Costs incurred by the FDIC and the OCC are recorded in the budget as an
increase in direct spending. Those two agencies are authorized to collect premiums and
fees from insured depository institutions to cover administrative expenses. CBO expects
that they would do so to recover any costs associated with amending current regulations
under the bill. Costs to the Federal Reserve System are reflected on the federal budget as a
reduction in remittances to the Treasury (which are recorded in the budget as revenues).
CBO  expects that any additional administrative costs to the Federal Reserve under the bill
would be insignificant.

Because enacting H.R. 2209 could affect direct spending and revenues, pay-as-you-go
procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effects would be negligible for
each year. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2209 would not increase net direct spending

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most