Sponsors
The bill expands insurance and near-term relief for transaction deposits and small institutions and provides regulatory predictability, but increases long-term exposure for the Deposit Insurance Fund, limits regulator flexibility, and may change how coverage applies to some depositors.
Depositors with noninterest-bearing transaction accounts at banks and members with similar noninterest-bearing shares at credit unions (e.g., business operating accounts) would have those balances insured above the standard FDIC/NCUA limits, reducing the risk of loss if an institution fails.
Smaller banks and credit unions (assets ≤ $10 billion) would be temporarily shielded from new special assessment costs during the transition, easing near-term financial burden and liquidity pressure on community institutions.
The FDIC and NCUA would be required to publish 10-year phase-in plans for how these transaction deposits are counted in insured deposit estimates, giving institutions and markets greater predictability about future reserve and assessment treatment.
Depositors' expanded insurance could raise long‑term costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund, potentially leading to higher assessments on banks or increased taxpayer exposure if failures exceed reserves.
Making the additional insurance amount effectively permanent (not changeable by the FDIC absent an Act of Congress) reduces the FDIC's flexibility to adjust insurance limits or respond to evolving risks.
Phasing the inclusion of these deposits into reserve/assessment calculations over 10 years may defer necessary capital or assessment adjustments and could shift costs or risks into later periods.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds a separate FDIC insurance layer for aggregated noninterest‑bearing transaction accounts, requires an FDIC rule within six months, and temporarily exempts small banks from certain special assessments.
Introduced March 25, 2026 by Frank D. Lucas · Last progress March 25, 2026
Creates a new, separate deposit insurance component for aggregate noninterest-bearing transaction accounts at insured depository institutions, adding that additional insured amount on top of the existing standard deposit insurance limit. Directs the FDIC to issue a rule within six months defining the insured maximum for these accounts, requires aggregation across subsidiaries of a single holding company, allows limited exclusions, and makes the new additional insurance removable only by an Act of Congress; it also temporarily exempts institutions with $10 billion or less in assets from certain FDIC special assessments tied to extending this insurance. Also adds a statutory definition of “noninterest-bearing transaction account,” makes a small technical change to existing FDIC-related code, and sets a short implementation timeline for the FDIC rulemaking. The change is aimed at increasing protection for large noninterest-bearing transactional deposits and alters how the FDIC will treat those accounts for insurance and assessment purposes.