House Bills Aims to Give Financial Regulators Better Tech

House lawmakers in the United States have passed legislation, the FUTURES Act, to enhance digital tools for financial regulators, according to FedScoop. This Act, which cleared the House by a vote of 417 to 7 earlier this week, aims to improve regulatory effectiveness in supervision. The bill instructs financial regulators, including the Federal Reserve, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., to provide Congress with an assessment of their technical capabilities.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, a co-sponsor of the bill, emphasized the need to understand the challenges regulators face, such as talent gaps, procurement barriers, and technological blind spots. He stated that Congress must understand the red tape hindering the modernization of government technology while the financial sector rapidly advances.

The legislation also requires regulators to develop plans to address identified technology gaps and conduct further reviews every five years. Rep. Bill Foster of Illinois, the other co-sponsor, highlighted the potential risks of 24-hour banking tools and social media panic, which could intensify bank runs and destabilize the financial system.

The Clarity Act, another piece of legislation, was defeated in the Senate after over a year of lobbying and negotiations, as reported by PYMNTS.