HR-5276 — Community Bank LIFT Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Corporate BenefitsTransparency & Accountability

Banks up to $15 billion could keep a smaller cushion against losses — nothing changes at your account.

Corporate Benefits

Simpler capital rules reach larger banks — asset limit rises to $15 billion

Today only banks under $10 billion in assets can use the simpler capital rule. Raising the line to $15 billion would let more banks skip the tougher rules big banks follow.

Looser safety-cushion rules for community banks — floor drops from 8% to 6%

The law tells regulators to set the cushion somewhere inside a range. That range would move down from 8%-10% to 6%-8%, so banks in the program could hold less against losses.

Transparency & Accountability

Required review of community bank rules — report due in 150 days

The Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the OCC would look at how the rule works and who opts in. They have 150 days to send Congress what they find, plus ideas to change it.

Deadline for regulators to write rules — final within one year

The same three agencies would have 180 days after passage to propose the new rules. The final rules would be due one year after passage and must weigh the report's suggestions.

More about this bill

If you use a small local bank, your own account would not change. These rules apply to the bank itself, not to you. Banks with up to $15 billion in assets could use a simpler capital rule. The cutoff today is $10 billion. That rule, the Community Bank Leverage Ratio, tracks how much of its own money a bank keeps against losses. The size of that cushion would also drop. Regulators must now set it between 8% and 10% of assets. The new range would be 6% to 8%. Banks that opt in would keep less set aside. Three federal banking agencies would first study how the rule works. They would report their findings to Congress within 150 days. The agencies would then have 180 days to propose new rules. Final rules would be due within a year.

Congressional Summary

Community Bank Leverage Improvement and Flexibility for Transparency Act or the Community Bank LIFT ActThis bill relaxes requirements related to the community bank leverage ratio, which is a simplified capital standard applicable to qualified community banks. Community banks qualify by having less than $10 billion in assets, along with meeting other criteria.Specifically, the bill increases this asset limit to $15 billion. Additionally, it reduces the statutory range of the leverage ratio from 8%-10% to 6%-8%. (The specific rate is set by regulation. A reduction in the leverage ratio eases capital requirements.)The Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation must review and report on the leverage ratio and the rules issued to carry out its implementation. The report must include a consideration of how to modify the leverage ratio to encourage more participation in the community bank leverage ratio framework, with a focus on community banks with fewer assets and providing relief from regulatory compliance burdens.After this report is issued, the participating agencies must propose and finalize rules to implement this bill and the recommendations contained in the report.

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber
Status: summarized
Action
Action Date
Date Added: 2026-04-02
Source: Congress.gov →

Like reading a bill in plain English?

We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.