09/06/23
Cannabis Banking- The SAFE Banking Act seems to have gotten traction over the recess and could be headed for a committee and floor vote in the Senate. In a “Dear Colleague" letter written last Friday Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) encouraged fellow Senators to work in a bipartisan fashion to pass several pieces of legislation including the SAFE Banking Act. In recent years, the Senate has been the hold up on this legislation so this is a significant development. In the letter Leader Schumer said "safeguarding cannabis banking" is an issue that should be dealt with before the end of the year. The OBL received intel that the SAFE Banking Act is likely going to get a vote in the Senate Banking Committee some time in late September. Bankers and OBL staff will be in DC later this month to help push for bipartisan support of this commonsense piece of legislation.
Durbin Marshall Interchange Legislation- The bipartisan plan to expand the Dodd-Frank interchange legislation to credit cards will receive significant pressure for the next several months. Senators Durbin and Marshall have already tried several times to sneak this bill through on a must-pass piece of legislation, and we expect them to continue to try that for the rest of the year. The OBL opposes this legislation and will have to be vigilant this does not get caught up in the broader government funding discussions for the next few months.
Government Funding- Congress has only a few short weeks to avoid a partial government shutdown as the federal government runs out of funds on October 1st. The polarized Congress does not seem close to any agreement on a federal budget much less a short term stop gap funding resolution. The National Flood Insurance program also runs out of funding on the same timeline and we are concerned with any lapse in the NFIP system.
RECOUP Act- Legislation that would allow the FDIC to claw back more executive compensation in the wake of a bank failure could get a full vote on the Senate floor. The legislation which passed the US Senate Banking Committee on a bipartisan basis in the weeks following the collapse of SVB, is a high priority for the Democratic Leadership in the Senate.