Summary of HB6955: Main Street Capital Access Act

• New Bank Formation Incentives: Establishes a 3-year phase-in period for new depository institutions to meet federal capital requirements, with business plan deviation requests deemed approved if regulators fail to act within 30 days; sets a reduced 7.5% Community Bank Leverage Ratio for rural depository institutions (under $10 billion in assets) during this period

• Streamlined Application Timelines: Requires banking regulators to notify applicants within 30 days (60 for complex cases) whether applications are complete, with final determinations due within 90 days—applications are automatically deemed approved if agencies miss deadlines

• Community Bank Leverage Ratio Expansion: Increases the qualifying asset threshold from $10 billion to $15 billion and lowers the required leverage ratio range from 8-10% to 6-8%, with rulemaking to be finalized within one year

• Small Bank Holding Company Relief: Raises the consolidated asset threshold for the Federal Reserve's Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement from current levels to $25 billion within 180 days

• Regulatory Tailoring Requirements: Mandates that federal financial regulators tailor all regulations to each institution's risk profile and business model, with required look-back review of all regulations from the past 15 years to be completed within 3 years

• Enhanced Threshold Indexing: Adjusts multiple regulatory thresholds for inflation (e.g., $100 billion to $150 billion, $250 billion to $370 billion) and requires ongoing GDP-based annual adjustments to maintain proportionality

• Discount Window Modernization: Requires the Federal Reserve to complete a comprehensive review within 240 days covering technology infrastructure, cybersecurity, operating hours, stigma reduction, and interactions with other liquidity providers, with a remediation plan and annual progress reports to Congress

• Reciprocal Deposit Expansion: Creates a tiered structure allowing banks to hold more reciprocal deposits without brokered deposit classification (50% of first $1 billion in liabilities, 40% of next $9 billion, 30% of amounts up to $250 billion) and extends eligibility to institutions with CAMELS ratings of 1, 2, or 3

• Merger Review Exemptions: Exempts bank mergers resulting in institutions with less than $10 billion in assets from antitrust and competition analysis requirements, with the threshold adjusted annually for GDP growth

• International Regulatory Transparency: Requires banking regulators to report annually on interactions with global financial forums (including Basel Committee and Financial Stability Board), including anticipated U.S. regulatory changes and economic impact analyses of implementing international agreements