The push for Fed access legislation may survive the midterms

Maxine Waters says "expanding access to Federal Reserve master accounts" is part of the agenda the House Financial Services Committee will pursue if she returns to the chair, as is generally expected. So it seems the push for Fed access legislation may well survive the midterms.

Waters' letter asking House Democrats to make her chair again includes expanding Fed access as part of the "bold agenda" she promises to pursue. The letter groups it with faster payments, open banking, and Fed reform under the heading "Financial Modernization."

Pending bills like the PACE Act, with its "payments reserve accounts" for state-licensed payment providers, die when this Congress ends in January. Whatever comes next starts over in a committee that Waters will probably run.

It would take legislation to meaningfully expand master account access. The Fed's narrow "skinny master account" would offer accounts only to entities that are already "legally eligible," which still excludes non-bank payment companies.

Of course, the letter doesn't say who should get access, or on what terms. But it does say "expanding," taking a point of view about the need for change and the direction of that change.