Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R, NC-10), the Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced H.R. 6118, the Financial Services Innovation Act of 2016. The bill was introduced as part of the Innovation Initiative which McHenry jointly launched with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R, CA-23) earlier this year. 

"For generations, America has been the world's leader in innovation, spanning a variety of fields from transportation to medicine to software," said McHenry. "One area we're falling behind, is the financial services industry. The bill I introduced today changes that."

"The Financial Services Innovation Act represents a mindset shift in the way we address financial regulation," McHenry continues. "Rather than the command-and-control structure of the past, my bill establishes an evolved regulatory framework that encourages financial innovation, all while maintaining our regulators' commitment to the safety of consumers and our financial markets."

"Ultimately this bill serves the American people. New financial technologies already make it easier to pay friends, save for college, or access credit needed to start and grow a business. Continued innovation will only further that progress, making it easier and cheaper for all Americans to access our financial system." 

BACKGROUND:

H.R. 6118 establishes a federal regulatory framework that allows financial services companies and entrepreneurs the flexibility they need to go to market sooner with innovative, new financial technology products.

The bill requires twelve different federal regulators to have a mandate to foster innovation in financial services through the creation of Financial Services Innovation Offices (FSIOs) within their agencies.  Companies may apply for an “enforceable compliance agreement” with the FSIOs that, if accepted, will allow them to provide an innovative product or service under an alternative compliance plan, which waives or modifies regulation that is out-of-date or unduly burdensome. 

McHenry will be formally unveiling H.R. 6118 during a speech at the Electronic Transactions Associations' FinTech Policy Forum at 4:05 PM this afternoon. More details on that event are available here.  

In July, McHenry introduced two other fintech bills, H.R. 5724 the Protecting Consumers' Access to Credit Act and H.R. 5725 the IRS Data Verification Modernization Act. You can learn more about those bills here.