CAPITAL POOLS.

SEC. 508. CAPITAL POOLS. (a) Findings.— The Congress hereby finds that— (1) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has the statutory authority to engage in open bank assistance for failing banks under section 13(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to minimize losses to the insurance fund and to provide for the stability of the community; (2) communities in depressed regions of the Nation have had increasing difficulty in raising capital to infuse into locally operated, failing banks; (3) States have the authority to establish capital pools to supplement Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation funds and outside capital in arranging open banks assistance plans; and (4) it is not in the public interest to have a fire sale of assets acquired by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as a part of their acquisitions of nonperforming loans of failed banks. (b) Sense of the Congress.— It is the sense of the Congress that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation should— (1) exercise its discretionary authority to work with States which authorize capital pools described in subsection (a)(3) to save community banks during this time of great economic distress in certain regions of the country; and (2) use its discretionary authority to negotiate sale of loans in the Corporation’s capacity as receiver for a closed insured bank to banks in the area in which such closed bank is located in order to prevent further asset devaluation.