Congress has introduced two pieces of bipartisan legislation known as the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act – H.R. 3711 (co-sponsored by Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC)) and S. 1282 (co-sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ)) in an effort to reduce risks to the financial system by limiting banks’ ability to engage in certain risky activities and limiting conflicts of interest as well as reinstating certain Glass-Steagall Act protections that were previously repealed in 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB).
Both bills would act to prohibit banks from becoming an affiliate of an insurance company, including a title insurance company.
In this way, banks that currently own or have holding company structures that own or control financial interests in title insurance companies, whether closely-held or jointly-held, would have to terminate those relationships to comply with the bill mandate. Both bills are currently in committee in their respective chambers and their future is uncertain.
NAILTA has researched the bills and the predecessor legislation from which they originate from and has drafted the enclosed position paper in favor of the bipartisan legislation. For more information on NAILTA’s position regarding H.R. 3711 and S. 1282, please click here.