The Senate is next for banker-backed legislation that would raise the number of shareholders from 500 to 2,000 before a bank has to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The measure, which banks say would make it easier for them to raise capital and give them more money to lend, passed the House late Wednesday 420-2.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. James Himes (D-Conn.), is sponsored in the other chamber by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).

It's one of a series of regulatory relief measures for banks that are pending in Congress this year. CUNA Senior Vice President Ryan Donovan said while the Himes-Hutchison bill will help banks, his organization isn't necessarily going to oppose it for that reason.

“It caught our attention but it is a bill that passed the House with 420 votes. And we don't automatically oppose anything just because the bankers support it. Just as they don't necessarily oppose everything we ask for, such as the creation of the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund,'' Donovan said.

The most comprehensive bank regulatory relief bill is one sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.). The regulatory provisions include making it easier for the Financial Stability Oversight Council to overturn regulations of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and repeal the Federal Reserve's authority to delegate some of its examination authority to the CFPB.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) is a cosponsor of that measure. He hasn't signed on to the credit union-backed bill that would raise the cap on member business loans from 12.25% of assets to 27.5% of assets.