WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Industrial Bank Holding Company Act of 2007 (H.R. 698) by a vote of 371 to 16.
The bill seeks to draw a line in the sand between banking and commerce after Wal-Mart applied for an industrial loan company charter. According to the bill's sponsors, it would restore the historic separation between banking and commerce, prevent branch banking by some commercially-owned ILCs, and bolster the supervisory authorities of the FDIC as a holding company regulator.
However, the bill could have a rocky road ahead in the Senate because of objections by Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah), the second ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee. Utah is home to many ILCs.
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Primary sponsor Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio), the ranking member of the Financial Institutions Subcommittee, said, "I look forward to getting a bill to the President before the end of the FDIC-imposed moratorium."
America's Community Bankers President/CEO Diane Casey-Landry applauded the bill as bringing "parity to the banking system while reducing potential risks to our nation's financial system." The credit union trades stayed out of the fray, but kept an eye on the legislation.
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