PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Saturday, September 26, 2020
September 26, 2020
FedACTion Task Force
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Click here to read more from our Coronavirus series.
Congress
Click here to view the full text of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), Enacted March 27, 2020.
Click here to view the full text of the Paycheck Protection Program Increase Act of 2020, Enacted April 24, 2020.
Click here to view the full text of the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, Enacted June 5, 2020.
Click here to view a running list of proposed legislation from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, House Committee on Financial Services, and House Committee on Small Business.
Federal Agencies
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Investigating the Effect of Health Insurance in the COVID-19 Pandemic
September 25, 2020
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Liberty Street Economics blog released a post titled “Investigating the Effect of Health Insurance in the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The authors approach the query of whether health insurance improves health in a novel way by exploiting a natural experiment, the adoption of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion by some states but not others, to tease out the causal effect of a type of health insurance on COVID-19 intensity.
Securities and Exchange Commission
Director of Investment Management Division’s Keynote Address: Regulating with our Eyes on the Future
September 24, 2020
Investment Company Institute 2020 Virtual Securities Law Developments Conference addressing the impact of COVID-19 on the securities markets.
U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Stability Oversight Council
Financial Stability Oversight Council Meeting
September 25, 2020
On September 25, 2020, U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin presided over a meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (Council) in executive and open sessions at the Treasury. During the executive session, the Council was briefed on an activities-based review of secondary mortgage market activities. The Council discussed key findings of the review, including with respect to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s proposed capital rule. In addition, the Council was briefed by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the effects of COVID-19 on short-term wholesale funding markets. In the open session, the Council was updated on the development of its 2020 annual report.
Department of Housing and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration
HUD’s Office of Inspector General Releases Memorandum: Opportunities Exist to Improve HUD’s Responses to Inquiries Regarding Forbearance and Foreclosure Relief Provided by the CARES Act
September 22, 2020
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a memorandum noting that opportunities exist to improve HUD’s responses to inquiries from borrowers, industry partners and the general public regarding forbearance and foreclosure relief provided by the CARES Act. The OIG reviewed HUD’s responses to such inquiries in order to evaluate the accuracy of HUD’s responses. The OIG found that HUD could improve its customer service to borrowers, industry partners and the general public by providing more direct, accurate and complete responses to their inquiries.
International
European Banking Authority
EBA Launches EU-Wide Transparency Exercise
September 25, 2020
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched its seventh annual European Union (EU)-wide transparency exercise, with the objective of providing market participants with updated information on the financial conditions of EU banks as of June 2020, thus assessing the preliminary impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the sector. The EBA expects to publish the results of the exercise at the beginning of December, along with the Risk Assessment Report.
Bank of England
The Impact of COVID-19 on Businesses’ Expectations: Evidence from the Decision Maker Panel
September 25, 2020
The Bank of England released a Quarterly Bulletin on the impact of COVID-19 on businesses’ expectations based on results from its Decision Maker Panel, which polls senior executives in British businesses about their expectations for business conditions and uncertainty. Businesses reported that the spread of COVID-19 and the measures to contain it led to a fall in sales of around 30% in the second quarter of 2020. Sales are expected to recover gradually, but further reductions in employment are expected in the second half of 2020.