# 119-hr-6556: Failing Bank Acquisition Fairness Act

119-hr-6556, Failing Bank Acquisition Fairness Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8] (D-MA); status passed_house; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6556
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-6556
- Congress: 119
- Title: Failing Bank Acquisition Fairness Act
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2025-12-10
- Sponsor: Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8] (D-MA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Limits concentration-limit waivers** for mergers that involve failed or failing banks to protect financial stability. It tightens who counts as a qualified bidder, blocks bad-faith offers from shaping least-cost tests, and forces public reports to Congress. - Regulators: The Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC must use tighter waiver rules and new "qualified bid" and "well capitalized" definitions before allowing exceptions to concentration limits. These exceptions require clear and convincing evidence that a deal is necessary to prevent major economic disruption or financial instability. - Bidders and failing banks: Acquirers must meet tougher capitalization and management standards. Applications or bids that violate the statute or are made in bad faith cannot be counted in least-cost determinations for the Deposit Insurance Fund. - Transparency and Congress: When agencies waive concentration limits they and the FDIC must jointly report to the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee within 30 days, explaining why the waiver was necessary, what alternatives were considered, and recommending policy changes; reports are publicly disclosed with allowed redactions. *Reduces the discretionary surplus fund by $2.0 million, effective September 1, 2036.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ), 2025-12-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Tighter rules for failing bank mergers: benefit, medium. This bill would set stricter guardrails on emergency bank mergers and takeovers. Agencies would have a general exception to approve deals that resolve a bank in default or in danger of default, including with FDIC help. A stronger exception to lift concentration caps would apply only with clear and…
- Small Fed surplus cut in 2036: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would cut by $2,000,000 the dollar amount used for the Federal Reserve’s discretionary surplus. The change would start on September 1, 2036. This would affect Federal Reserve accounting only and would not directly change household taxes or benefits.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights of transgender…
- 119-hr-5862: American Energy Independence and Affordability Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-6556 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6556)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implem…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-1058)
- [119-hr-5862: American Energy Independence and Affordability Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5862)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6556 (as of 2026-09-21).