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Bill

S 4450

Financial Access Protection Act

119th Congress Introduced by Angela Alsobrooks

Prohibits covered financial institutions from collecting, retaining, or sharing consumers’ citizenship or immigration status to safeguard privacy and access to financial services.

Introduced in Senate
3
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 4450

Financial Access Protection Act (S. 4450, 119th Congress)

Purpose and intent

  • The bill aims to prohibit covered financial institutions from collecting, maintaining, or disclosing information about a consumer’s citizenship status or immigration status.
  • It seeks to protect consumer privacy related to citizenship/immigration information and reduce the risk that such data could be used in ways that affect access to financial services.

Key provisions and changes

  • Definition section clarifies terms, including:
    • Covered financial institution: includes insured depository institutions (banks, thrifts), insured credit unions, consumer reporting agencies, and certain bank/finance holding companies and their affiliates supervised by federal banking agencies.
    • Other defined terms reference the Bank Secrecy Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and related regulatory bodies.
  • Prohibition on collection and handling of citizenship/immigration data (Section 3(a)):
    • A covered financial institution may not:
    • Require a consumer or prospective consumer to disclose citizenship status or immigration status as a condition of opening, maintaining, or accessing an account or financial service.
    • Request, collect, record, retain, maintain, or obtain information relating to citizenship or immigration status.
    • Transmit, report, disclose, or make available such information to any federal agency or other governmental entity.
  • Prohibition on regulatory action (Section 3(b)):
    • Federal banking agencies may not:
    • Require or encourage institutions to collect or maintain citizenship/immigration information.
    • Condition supervisory ratings, enforcement actions, approvals, or other regulatory outcomes on collection/reporting of citizenship/immigration data.
  • Enforcement (Section 3(c)):
    • Each appropriate federal banking agency is charged with enforcing these provisions.
  • Clarifications (Section 3(d)):
    • The act does not:
    • Alter or limit obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act.
    • Prevent institutions from complying with lawful reporting requirements related to prevention of financial crimes (money laundering, sanctions, etc.).

Who or what would be affected

  • Covered financial institutions listed in the bill:
    • Insured depository institutions (banks, savings associations).
    • Insured credit unions.
    • Consumer reporting agencies.
    • National banks, Federal savings associations, state member banks, nonmember banks, bank holding companies, savings and loan holding companies, and their affiliates/subsidiaries under federal supervision.
  • Consumers and prospective customers of these institutions would be protected from being asked for or having citizenship/immigration status collected or disclosed in routine banking interactions.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Introduced in the Senate by Angela Alsobrooks on April 30, 2026.
  • The bill was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  • No specific effective date or phase-in schedule is provided in the text provided; typical implementation details would be determined during committee/passage, including potential rulemaking timelines.

Practical impact

  • Strengthens privacy protections by restricting the collection and sharing of citizenship/immigration status by covered financial institutions.
  • Aims to prevent potential discrimination or barriers to financial access based on nationality or immigration status.
  • Maintains existing anti-financial-crime and regulatory disclosure obligations, ensuring compliance with BSA-related requirements and sanctions/AML frameworks.

If you’d like, I can map the bill’s provisions to a side-by-side comparison with current law or draft a one-page briefing for a bipartisan audience.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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