Main Street Capital Access Act
What does the Main Street Capital Access Act do?
HR 6955 is a House bill sponsored by Rep. J. French Hill (R-AR). The Main Street Capital Access Act (Main Street Act) is a broad banking deregulation bill. It raises the asset thresholds that trigger the toughest federal bank regulations — including lifting the Financial Stability Act's enhanced-prudential-standards threshold from $250B to $370B — and requires those thresholds to be ratcheted up with GDP growth going forward. It eases capital and examination rules for new and community banks, waives antitrust review for bank mergers that produce institutions under $10B, bars regulators from using "reputational risk" in supervision, and prohibits climate-related stress tests.
Did HR 6955 pass? Where it stands
As of July 17, 2026, HR 6955 has been placed on the House calendar and is awaiting a floor vote.
Status: House Calendar
Outlook: Unlikely
Key provisions
- Enhanced Regulation Thresholds Raised and GDP-Indexed
- The Financial Stability Act asset threshold for enhanced prudential standards is raised from $250B to $370B, and the $100B trigger for certain requirements is raised to $150B
- Going forward, the Federal Reserve must raise these thresholds every 5 years (beginning April 1, 2031) by the growth in nominal GDP — and only when GDP has grown, never downward
- Matching thresholds in the Federal Reserve Act, Bank Holding Company Act, and Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act are also raised
- Community Bank Leverage Ratio Loosened
- The asset ceiling to qualify for the simplified Community Bank Leverage Ratio framework is raised from $10B to $15B
- The qualifying leverage ratio range is lowered from 8%-10% to 6%-8%, letting banks hold less capital and still use the simplified regime
- New Bank Formation Relief
- New depository institutions get a 3-year phase-in to meet federal capital requirements
- Regulators must approve or deny a new bank's request to change its business plan within 30 days — non-response is deemed approval
- New rural depository institutions (under $10B in assets) get a Community Bank Leverage Ratio set at the lesser of the standard ratio or 7.5%
- Faster Application and Merger Deadlines
- Holding-company and bank-merger applications must be granted or denied within 90 days of initial submission — an application is deemed granted if the agency misses the deadline
- Agencies have 30 days to tell an applicant whether its record is complete, extendable by 30 days for complex applications
- Antitrust Review Waived for Small-Bank Mergers
- For mergers and acquisitions resulting in an institution with less than $10B in assets, regulators may not consider monopoly or competition effects
- The $10B threshold is itself indexed to nominal GDP growth
- Limits on Bank Supervision Practices
- Federal banking agencies must remove "reputational risk" from all guidance, manuals, and exams and may not base supervisory actions on it — the findings cite the 2018 "Operation Choke Point"
- The Federal Reserve is prohibited from subjecting banks to climate-related stress tests and must disclose stress-test scenarios at least 60 days in advance
- A new Office of Independent Examination Review gives banks a de novo appeal of material supervisory determinations, with further review available in federal appeals court
Last updated June 10, 2026