Sponsor
Joyce Beatty
Representative · D-OH
Representative · D-OH
The bill aims to boost capacity and expand banking access—especially for rural and small/minority depositories—while increasing reporting, but it risks giving large banks competitive leverage, creating conflict-of-interest and safety concerns, and imposing taxpayer-funded administrative costs.
Rural customers and communities could gain better access to local banking services if rural depository institutions receive mentorship and capacity improvements.
Small banks, credit unions, and minority depository institutions will get capacity-building, mentorship, and outreach that can help them serve customers better and form partnerships with larger banks.
Taxpayers and Congress will get more transparency and oversight because the Treasury must produce annual reports on participation, outreach events, and program activity.
Small businesses and some smaller financial firms could face reduced competition or increased dependence if large financial institutions steer business toward their mentees.
Mentor–protégé relationships may create conflicts of interest or alter risk/compliance profiles, raising safety and national‑security concerns for the financial system.
Implementing and running the outreach, exclusion processes, and reporting will impose administrative costs on the Treasury, ultimately borne by taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs Treasury to create a mentor‑protégé program pairing large financial agents/institutions with small financial institutions, plus outreach and an annual report to Congress.
Creates a Treasury-run "Financial Agent Mentor-Protégé Program" that lets Treasury-designated financial agents or very large banks mentor small financial institutions so they can serve as financial agents or better serve customers. The program requires annual outreach events, an exclusion process by guidance/regulation, and an annual report to Congress; key definitions and asset-size thresholds for "large" and "small" institutions are included. The Act becomes effective 90 days after enactment.
Official title: Advancing the Mentor-Protégé Program for Small Financial Institutions Act
Introduced June 4, 2025 by Joyce Beatty · Last progress May 13, 2026