Financial Access Protection Act
- Bill Number
- H.R. 8643
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-04-30: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
- Last Updated
- 2026-05-21T21:03:15Z
AI-Generated Summary
Summary of H.R. 8643 - Financial Access Protection Act
Purpose
The bill aims to protect consumers' access to financial services by prohibiting covered financial institutions (like banks and credit unions) from collecting, maintaining, or sharing information about a person's citizenship or immigration status. This promotes privacy and equal access to banking without requiring proof of legal status.
Key Provisions
- Prohibitions on Financial Institutions:
- Cannot require consumers to disclose citizenship or immigration status to open, maintain, or access accounts or services.
- Cannot request, collect, record, retain, or obtain such information.
- Cannot share or disclose such information with any federal agency or government entity.
- Prohibitions on Regulators:
- Federal banking agencies (e.g., FDIC, Federal Reserve) cannot require, encourage, or base supervisory actions (like ratings or approvals) on institutions collecting this information.
- Enforcement:
- Federal banking agencies must enforce these rules.
- Definitions:
- Covered financial institutions: Includes insured banks, credit unions, consumer reporting agencies (companies that compile credit reports), and related affiliates supervised by federal regulators.
- Appropriate Federal banking agency: Regulators like those defined in the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
- Exceptions (Rule of Construction):
- Does not interfere with Bank Secrecy Act requirements (anti-money laundering rules) or reporting for preventing financial crimes like money laundering, terrorist financing, or sanctions violations.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Introduces a blanket prohibition ("notwithstanding any other provision of law") on collecting or sharing citizenship/immigration status data, which was not previously restricted in this way for financial institutions.
- Bars regulators from indirectly pushing for such data collection through guidance, exams, or supervisory practices.
- Explicitly preserves anti-crime reporting obligations, carving out exceptions to avoid conflicting with existing laws like the Bank Secrecy Act.
Potential Impacts
- On Citizens and Consumers: Improves access to banking for immigrants and non-citizens by removing status disclosure barriers, potentially reducing unbanked populations.
- On Financial Institutions: Limits data collection practices, simplifying operations but requiring updates to policies and systems; no impact on core anti-crime duties.
- On Government Agencies: Restricts federal access to immigration-related data from banks, potentially hindering some enforcement efforts while regulators lose tools to pressure institutions.
- On International Relations: Minimal direct impact, though it could indirectly affect tracking of foreign nationals involved in financial crimes via preserved exceptions.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Consumers: Especially immigrants, non-citizens, and those without easy access to status documents.
- Covered Financial Institutions: Banks, credit unions, consumer reporting agencies, and their affiliates.
- Federal Regulators: Agencies like FDIC, Federal Reserve, OCC, and NCUA, which must enforce and adjust supervisory practices.
- Law Enforcement: Agencies relying on financial data for immigration or crime investigations, though exceptions maintain some access.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Overrides conflicting laws and limits regulatory overreach; enforceable like other banking rules, with potential for lawsuits if institutions or agencies violate it.
- Constitutional: Enhances privacy protections (potentially under 4th or 14th Amendments) and equal protection by barring status-based barriers to financial services.
- Political: Addresses debates on immigration and financial inclusion; could spark contention between privacy advocates and immigration enforcement supporters, but neutrality via crime exceptions reduces conflicts.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15]
Recent Actions
- 2026-04-30: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
- 2026-04-30: Introduced in House
- 2026-04-30: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Financial Access Protection Act — issued 2026-04-30 — PDF (5 pages)