Bills to protect senior investors, amend new equity crowdfunding rules as well as expand investments in venture capital funds passed the full House late Tuesday.
Industry groups applauded passage of the SeniorSafe Act, H.R. 4538, which passed the House late Tuesday afternoon by voice vote. The bill now goes to the Senate for approval.
The bill provides that banks, credit unions, investment advisors, broker-dealers, insurance companies and certain supervisory, compliance and legal employees would be protected from civil or administrative liability as long as they received training in how to spot and report predatory activity and disclose any possible exploitation of senior citizens with reasonable care to state or federal regulatory and law enforcement entities.
The North American Securities Administrators Association applauded the bill's passage early Wednesday, noting that state securities regulators look forward to "working closely" with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and other members of the Senate to secure its passage.
Dale Brown, president and CEO of the Financial Services Institute, added that FSI is now working to gain co-sponsors for the Senate version of the bill and is "hopeful" that the Senate will quickly follow suit.
By providing civil and administrative immunity to financial services firms and advisors, "the legislation would allow financial professionals to report potential abuse to government organizations, without violating privacy laws," Brown said.
The bill also "standardizes training" to help identify and report instances of suspected abuse.
NASAA president Judith Shaw added in the statement that "senior financial exploitation is a critical policy challenge," noting that the SeniorSafe Act "will remove barriers that have frustrated efforts to report suspected cases of senior financial exploitation, and provide new tools to help financial services professionals recognize and report such exploitation to state securities regulators and other appropriate governmental authorities."
