Banks' top executives face stock-sale lockdown during crises
H.R. 7887 — Incentivizing Safe and Sound Banking Act · Filed by Maxine Waters (D-CA) · Introduced Mar 9, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill gives federal banking regulators the power to prohibit executives at large banks (those with over $50 billion in assets) from selling company stock when the bank receives a poor safety rating or fails to fix serious supervisory problems. The goal is to align executive incentives with bank safety by preventing executives from cashing out while their institution is in trouble.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a regulatory tool that restricts stock sales by senior executives at large banks during periods of supervisory concern. It is fundamentally a compensation/incentive-alignment measure, not a broader banking reform.
What the text implies
- Executives may shift compensation from equity to cash or deferred instruments, reducing alignment with long-term bank health.
- The $50B asset threshold creates a two-tier system where only the largest banks face restrictions, potentially disadvantaging them in executive recruitment.
- Regulators gain significant discretion in defining 'resolved to the satisfaction' of the agency, creating ambiguity about when restrictions lift.
- The bill does not address whether restricted executives can hedge their positions through derivatives, potentially undermining the intent.
Who it affects
The bill protects depositors and the financial system by discouraging executives from abandoning ship during crises, but it also restricts executive compensation rights and may reduce incentives for talented managers to work at large banks—potentially affecting lending and service quality. The net effect on ordinary citizens is unclear.
Who stands to gain
- depositors and creditors of large banks
- federal deposit insurance fund (reduced moral hazard)
Named in the bill
Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIC), Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System (CAMELS), Federal banking agencies, Bank holding companies, Senior executive officers, AIG, FBK, FMAO, PFG, PRU
Where it stands
- Mar 9, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 9, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 8, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Banks' top executives face stock-sale lockdown during crises” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr7887 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.