Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee have released a regulatory relief bill intended to be an alternative to the bill released by Senator Richard Shelby.  While Senator Shelby’s bill is entitled the “Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015,” the alternative bill is entitled the “Community Financial Institution Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2015.”

The bill released by Democrats includes the same provision as Senator Shelby’s bill directed at the annual financial privacy notice required by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).  Like Senator Shelby’s bill, the alternative bill would amend the GLBA to create an exception under which a financial institution would not have to deliver an annual financial privacy notice if it satisfied certain conditions. Key among such conditions is that the institution has not changed its policies and practices with respect to sharing nonpublic personal information from those disclosed in its most recent annual financial privacy notice.

The alternative version would also amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act to add various provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to the “enumerated consumer laws” that can be enforced by the CFPB.  In addition, it would amend the TILA ability to repay provision by creating a safe harbor for mortgage loans that meet certain conditions and are held in portfolio by banks and credit unions with less than $10 billion in assets.  This safe harbor is substantially narrower than the safe harbor that Senator Shelby’s bill would create.

Senator Shelby’s bill is scheduled for markup on May 21, 2015.