ARLINGTON, Va. (May 21, 2025)—Following the House Financial Services Committee’s passage of the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act earlier today, Online Lenders Alliance Chief Executive Officer Andrew Duke issued the following statement:
“We applaud the House Financial Services Committee for taking needed action to ensure the integrity of the banking system by stopping the next Operation Chokepoint. This is an issue of fundamental fairness and good governance: regulators should not be permitted to subject banks to intense scrutiny or threats as a political weapon against lawful industries or companies. Allowing regulators to do so only empowers those with personal biases and political agendas to replace the four corners of the law.
“We hope that this legislation will become law soon, putting an end to this destructive practice once and for all.”
The FIRM Act (H.R. 2702) was introduced in April by Reps. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and Richie Torres (D-N.Y.). It has also been introduced in the Senate by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.). It prohibits the use of “reputational risk” as a factor in the supervision of depository institutions, preventing the politicization of bank supervision and ensuring that regulatory focus remains squarely on material risks related to safety and soundness.
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