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Division of Banking previews three bills to modernize Bank Act, consumer loan rules and mortgage enforcement
Summary
Commissioner Melanie Hall told the Economic Affairs Committee the Division of Banking plans three bills: allow designated employees to countersign bank documents, limited sharing of exam report excerpts with auditors, and clarify use of 'bank' in business names; the division also proposed consumer‑loan and mortgage transparency changes.
Melanie Hall, Commissioner of the Division of Banking and Financial Institutions, briefed the Economic Affairs Interim Committee on the division’s legislative concepts for the next session.
Hall said the division is considering three changes to the Montana Bank Act: replacing the statutory requirement that an "officer" must countersign certain documents with a flexible "designated employee" approach; narrowly expanding who can receive specific portions of confidential examination reports so banks’ auditors can better act on regulator findings; and clarifying geographic and foreign‑language exceptions for use of the word "bank" in business names.
Hall also previewed changes to the Montana Consumer Loan Act to allow lenders to accept cryptocurrency as collateral (building on prior work that recognized crypto as personal property), to implement a 10‑day grace period for installment payments, and to permit rules requiring clearer disclosure of credit‑life insurance costs. On the Montana Mortgage Act, she asked authority to place fines into a restricted fund for financial literacy and consumer education rather than automatically lowering industry fees.
Why it matters: the requested changes aim to modernize transactional practice for institutions while improving consumer transparency. Commissioner Hall emphasized regulatory confidentiality but said targeted sharing with auditors could speed remediation of deficiencies; she offered to provide the committee with more detailed lists of the specific Bank Act signatory documents the division proposes to change.
Next steps: Hall said the governor’s office has approved the concepts and the division will prepare draft language for committee review. Committee members asked for clarifying lists and fiscal details; staff agreed to collect drafts for the August meeting.
Sources: Testimony from Melanie Hall (Commissioner, Division of Banking and Financial Institutions) before the Economic Affairs Interim Committee.
