House Committee Leaders Want Study of AI’s Impact on Financial Services

The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) aims to play a role in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) as the technology impacts the financial services and housing industries.

HFSC Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-North Carolina, and Ranking Member Maxine Waters, D-California, introduced bipartisan measures focusing on AI and its impact, the HFSC said in a Monday (Dec. 2) press release.

One measure, introduced by McHenry and co-sponsored by Waters, is a resolution (H. Res. 1600) that acknowledges the growing use of AI in the financial services and housing industries, according to the release.

“Artificial intelligence holds the promise to revolutionize our financial system,” McHenry said in the release. “As firms increasingly leverage AI, lawmakers and regulators tasked with oversight of the financial services industry must constantly evaluate the risks and benefits this technology poses.”

The second measure, introduced by Waters and cosponsored by McHenry, is a bill (H.R. 10262) that directs federal financial regulators to study the benefits and risks of AI as it relates to the financial and housing markets, per the release.

“Artificial intelligence is growing rapidly, and people across America are already seeing its use in our nation’s housing and financial services sectors, with impacts on mortgage lending, credit scoring and more,” Waters said in the release. “I am so proud to partner with Chair McHenry to introduce these two bipartisan bills, which continue the Committee’s leadership in examining and understanding the impact this technology has on people.”

The resolution and the bill build upon the Committee’s Bipartisan AI Working Group to evaluate the technology and how its adoption is impacted by current laws and regulations, according to the release.

The working group, which was established by McHenry and Waters in January, released a report in July saying that artificial intelligence has the potential to expand access to credit, enhance fraud protection and improve customer service, but also presents challenges around data privacy, potential bias in algorithmic decision-making and the need to ensure AI systems comply with existing laws.

When announcing the formation of the working group in January, McHenry and Waters said in a press release that it would investigate how the technology affects the development of new products and services, fraud prevention, compliance, supervisory and regulatory tools, and the financial services workforce.