Main Street Depositor Protection Act

This bill significantly expands federal deposit insurance by providing coverage for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts at insured depository institutions and credit unions. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is mandated to establish a maximum insured amount for these accounts, which must be at least the standard maximum deposit insurance amount but not exceeding $5,000,000. This amount will be determined based on considerations of enhancing financial stability , promoting economic growth, and ensuring the safety of the Deposit Insurance Fund. Once established by rule, this insurance amount can only be modified or repealed by an Act of Congress. The bill defines a noninterest-bearing transaction account as one where no interest is accrued or paid, withdrawals can be made by various instruments for third-party payments, and no advance notice for withdrawal is required. However, this expanded insurance explicitly excludes amounts maintained at global systemically important bank holding companies and insured branches of foreign banks. For aggregation purposes, the FDIC will combine amounts in noninterest-bearing transaction accounts across all subsidiaries of a single depository institution holding company. A 10-year transition period is established during which the FDIC and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) must gradually incorporate these newly insured deposits into their assessment calculations. During this transition, insured depository institutions with total assets of $10 billion or less are exempt from special assessments or assessment increases solely due to this extended coverage. Both the FDIC and NCUA are authorized to promulgate regulations to implement these changes and prevent evasion of the insurance limitations.