S. 3541: Fair Audits and Inspections for Regulators’ Exams Act

This bill establishes new requirements for entities responsible for the federal examination of financial intuitions. Specifically, the bill sets deadlines for federal financial regulatory agencies to provide final examination reports and to perform exit interviews of a financial institution. In addition, the agency must list all materials relied upon in support of a material supervisory determination upon the request of the financial institution.

The bill also establishes the Office of Independent Examination Review to adjudicate appeals and investigate complaints from financial institutions concerning examination reports. Under the bill, financial institutions have the right to obtain an independent review of a material supervisory determination contained in a final report of examination. The bill sets forth provisions regarding hearings and final decisions.

The bill also requires the establishment of an independent internal agency appellate process at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for the review of supervisory determinations made at institutions supervised by the CFPB.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.