89R20924 TBO-D
By: Parker S.C.R. No. 44
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, President Donald Trump, U.S. Senate Banking
Committee Chair Tim Scott, and U.S. House Financial Services
Committee Chair French Hill are working to stop federal regulators
from leveraging their authority to pressure banks to debank
individuals and businesses; and
WHEREAS, Banks are required by regulators to manage risk, to
know their customers, and to help detect and deter financial
crimes, including money laundering, drug trafficking, human
trafficking, and terrorism financing; they are also tasked with
filing suspicious activity reports for certain transactions and
prohibited from disclosing those reports to customers; and
WHEREAS, If a regulator determines that a bank is failing to
sufficiently manage risk, implement an adequate system to detect
and deter financial crimes, or promptly close accounts, the bank
can face significant monetary penalties, costly lawsuits, and in
some case, criminal charges; this regulatory environment allows
regulators to put intense pressure on banks, resulting in financial
institutions reevaluating or even severing their relationships
with businesses and individuals; and
WHEREAS, Examples of regulators unfairly taking advantage of
their leverage over banks include Operation Choke Point in 2013,
when several high-ranking bureaucrats attempted to pressure banks
to stop doing business with ammunition and gun sellers, payday
lenders, and other industries, and Operation Choke Point 2.0 in
2022, when the FDIC sent letters to banks that called for a pause on
bank-crypto activity; and
WHEREAS, Numerous banks have been negatively impacted by
agencies with broad discretion to enforce complex federal laws and
regulations, and more must be done to prevent further harm; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress and the Trump
Administration to modernize anti-money laundering laws to better
focus banks and law enforcement on potential financial criminal
activity rather than the innocent banking activity of law-abiding
customers; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature express support for
increased transparency and accountability for regulators and bank
examiners to better balance legitimate concerns relating to
anti-money laundering laws while mitigating impacts to the ability
of law-abiding citizens to access financial services; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to the appointed
officials leading the Federal Reserve, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, and the FDIC.