The House Financial Services Committee on Thursday approved 22bills, many of which credit union trade groups say would providetheir institutions with relief from burdensome regulations.

“Most of these bills are aimed at helping smaller banks, creditunions and early growth companies,” panel Chairman Jeb Hensarling(R-Texas) said, as the panel opened the two-day markup onWednesday. “These are goals that every Democrat and Republican onthis committee has said they support.”

While some of the bills gained Democratic support, others wereapproved along partisan lines, with Democrats saying the billswould loosen regulations too much.

The House already has passed Hensarling's Financial CHOICE Act,which would overhaul Dodd-Frank. But the Senate will notconsider that bill since Banking Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Id.) andhis Democratic counterpart Sherrod Brown of Ohio have been workingon a bipartisan financial regulatory measure.

“We are pleased to see a number of these bills get bipartisansupport and look forward to continuing to work with lawmakers asthese bills now await House action,” said NAFCU President/CEO B.Dan Berger, following the markup.

“These bills are a step toward removing barriers keepingconsumers from more affordable mortgages and other products,” saidCUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle.

Credit union trade groups said several of the bills would havean impact on their institutions, including:

• H.R. 1116, which would direct the federal financialinstitutions regulatory agencies to tailor their rules based on therisk profiles and business models of the institutions.
• H.R. 3072, which would increase the threshold that subjects afinancial institution to CFPB supervision from $10 billion to $50billion. It also would increase the threshold at which a financialinstitution is subject to CFPB reporting requirements from $10billion to $50 billion.
• H.R. 2706, which would prohibit a banking agency from directinga depository institution to terminate an account without having amaterial reason.
• H.R. 2954, which would increase the threshold that triggersHome Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting requirements to 1,000closed-end and 2,000 open-end mortgages.

The bills now go to the House floor.