PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Friday, August 20, 2021
August 20, 2021
FedACTion Task Force
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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 the full text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Enacted December 27, 2020.
Click here to view the full text of the American Rescue Plan of 2021, Enacted March 11, 2021.
Click here to view the full text of the PPP Extension Act of 2021, Enacted March 30, 2021.
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
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Letter: Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen and Secretary of the Department of Labor Martin J. Walsh to Congressional Leaders Discontinuing Enhanced Unemployment Insurance
August 19, 2021
Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen and Secretary of the Department of Labor Martin J. Walsh sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) on the expiration of emergency unemployment insurance.
Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Enhances Access to Financial Disclosure Data
August 19, 2021
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced open data enhancements that provide public access to financial statements and other disclosures made by publicly traded companies on its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Report: Mortgage Refinance Loans Drove an Increase in Closed-End Originations in 2020
August 19, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data report on residential mortgage lending trends, finding that the total number of closed-end originations as well as applications increased substantially between 2019 and 2020. Closed-end originations (excluding reverse mortgages) increased in 2020 by 65.2 percent, from 8.3 million in 2019 to 13.6 million in 2020. Most of the increase was driven by the refinance boom observed in 2020.
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
2020 SAR Filing Trend Data Now Available on FinCEN's Website
August 19, 2021
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) Interactive SAR Stats webpage includes Filing Trend Data by industry updated through the 2020 calendar year. Interactive SAR Stats is an application that enables users to view FinCEN's trend data for aggregated counts of defined suspicious activities that financial institutions file with FinCEN as required by the Bank Secrecy Act.
Fannie Mae
U.S. Economy Again Limited by COVID and Supply Chain Concerns
August 19, 2021
The Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group published commentary on how the lack of housing inventory continues to limit home purchase activity. According to the August 2021 commentary from the ESR Group, the full-year 2021 real GDP growth forecast was revised modestly downward due in part to the expectation that COVID-related disruptions to consumer spending and supply chains will more greatly hinder economic activity in the second half of the year than previously forecast.
U.S. Department of Labor
Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report Update
August 19, 2021
The Department of Labor released its weekly unemployment insurance report update. In the week ending August 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 348,000, a decrease of 29,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 375,000 to 377,000. The 4-week moving average was 377,750, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 396,250 to 396,750.
State Agencies
California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
Invitation for Comments: Debt Collection Licensing Act - Second Rulemaking
August 19, 2021
On April 8, 2021, Acting Commissioner Christopher S. Shultz initiated a rulemaking to adopt regulations related to the requirements for licensure under the Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA). Acting Commissioner Schultz is now considering a second rulemaking to adopt regulations related to other provisions of the DCLA, including its scope, annual reports, and bond amounts, and seeks input from stakeholders.
Final Rules Effective October 1, 2021: NMLS Transition and PACE Program Administrators, California Financing Law
August 19, 2021
Effective October 1, 2021, new regulations under the California Financing Law become operative. The regulations provide that all new license applications under the California Financing Law must be submitted through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry (NMLS) on and after October 1, 2021. All licensees not yet on NMLS must transition onto NMLS by December 31, 2021. PACE program administrators must comply with new regulatory provisions.
International
European Banking Authority
The EBA Updates Data Used For the Identification of Global Systemically Important Institutions
August 19, 2021
The European Banking Authority published 12 indicators and updated the underlying data from the 31 largest institutions in the EU. This end-2020 data serves as input for the internationally agreed standards on which a smaller subset of banks will be identified as global systemically important institutions, following the final decision from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Stability Board.
Administration Changes
Appointments/Confirmation Hearings
Department of the Treasury - Janet Yellen (effective January 26, 2021)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - Rohit Chopra (Nominee)
- Acting Director: Dave Uejio (January 20, 2020)
- Confirmation hearing held on March 2, 2021
- Committee approval March 10, 2021
Securities and Exchange Commission - Gary Gensler (effective April 17, 2021)
- Renee Jones to Join SEC as Director of Corporation Finance; John Coates Named SEC General Counsel (June 14, 2021)
- Daniel S. Kahl Appointed Acting Director of the Division of Examinations; Peter B. Driscoll to Depart Agency (July 14, 2021)
Small Business Administration - Isabella Casillas Guzman (effective March 16, 2021)
- Small Business Committee Advances SBA Deputy Administrator Nominee Dilawar Syed (June 17, 2021)
- U.S. Small Business Administration Announces Key Staff (August 18, 2021)
Commodity Futures Trade Commission
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
National Credit Union Administration - Todd M. Harper
Department of Housing and Urban Development - Marcia Fudge (effective March 10, 2021)
Department of Education - Dr. Miguel Cardona (effective March 2, 2021)