Federal regulators will examine mid-sized banks half as often
S. 3830 — TRUST Act of 2026 · Filed by Ted Budd (R-NC) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 11, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill doubles the asset threshold for small-bank examination frequency from $3 billion to $6 billion. Banks under $6 billion in assets must now be examined by federal regulators at least once every 18 months instead of annually. Smaller banks benefit by facing less frequent regulatory scrutiny; federal banking agencies lose examination authority over a larger cohort of institutions.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a straightforward reduction in examination frequency for a defined class of institutions. It is not disguised or misdirected, but it is functionally a deregulatory measure that reduces federal oversight of mid-sized banks.
What the text implies
- Banks in the $3B–$6B asset range will face 50% fewer mandatory federal examinations, potentially delaying detection of unsafe lending, capital, or liquidity problems until they become systemic.
- The 18-month cycle aligns with the examination frequency for larger, well-capitalized banks, effectively treating mid-sized institutions as lower-risk than current law assumes.
- Reduced examination burden may free regulatory resources but also reduces data collection on a cohort of institutions that collectively hold trillions in deposits and serve as primary lenders to small businesses.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Reduced examination frequency may lower compliance costs for small banks, potentially enabling lower fees or better lending terms for small-business and consumer borrowers. However, less frequent oversight of institutions holding billions in deposits increases systemic risk and reduces early detection of unsafe practices, potentially exposing depositors to greater loss if a bank fails.
Who stands to gain
- community banks and regional banks with $3B–$6B in assets
- bank holding companies in that asset range
Named in the bill
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), insured depository institutions, Section 10(d) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act
Where it stands
6 cosponsors: 3 Democrats, 3 Republicans.
- Feb 11, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Feb 11, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $110,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 24 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Ted Budd, the sponsor, reported $300,250 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Fintech Council — $110,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (440 characters) on Aug 19, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; 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.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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