PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Friday, February 5, 2020
February 05, 2021
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Administration Changes
Appointments/Confirmation Hearings
Department of the Treasury – Janet Yellen (effective January 26, 2021)
- Treasury Announces Confirmation of Secretary Janet Yellen (January 26, 2021)
- Statement of House Committee on Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters on Confirmation of Janet Yellen (January 26, 2021)
- Treasury Announces the Appointment of Members of Senior Staff (January 20, 2021)
- Treasury Announces Appointment of Several Members of Staff (February 3, 2021)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Rohit Chopra (Nominee)
- Acting Director: Dave Uejio (January 20, 2020)
- Confirmation hearing to be scheduled (additional details to follow)
- Readout of Incoming Chair Brown’s Meeting with Rohit Chopra (February 3, 2021)
Securities and Exchange Commission – Gary Gensler (Nominee)
- Acting Chair: Allison Herren Lee (January 21, 2021)
- Confirmation hearing to be scheduled (additional details to follow)
- Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee Announces Executive Staff (February 1, 2021)
Small Business Administration – Isabel Guzman (Nominee)
- Acting Administrator: Tami Perriello (January 20, 2021)
- Confirmation hearing to be scheduled (additional details to follow)
Commodity Futures Trade Commission
National Credit Union Administration – Todd M. Harper
Department of Housing and Urban Development – Marcia Fudge (Nominee)
- Acting Secretary: Matthew E. Ammon
- HUD Announces New Leadership Appointees
- Statement by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chairman Sherrod Brown (February 4, 2021)
Department of Education – Miguel Cardona (Nominee)
- Acting Secretary: Phil Rosenfelt (January 20, 2021)
- Education Announces Senior Appointees (January 21, 2021)
- Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees (February 3, 2021)
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 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.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Financial Services
Chairwoman Waters Co-Leads Representative Pressley Resolution Calling for the Cancellation of $50,000 of Federal Student Loan Debt per Person
February 4, 2021
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, joined Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) as a co-lead of a resolution to cancel $50,000 of federal student loan debt per person. The resolution calls on the President to use executive authority to cancel student loan debt and ensure there is no tax liability for federal student loan borrowers resulting from administrative debt cancellation.
Chairwoman Waters Gives Statement at Committee Hearing on the Need for Additional COVID-19 Stimulus
February 4, 2021
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, gave a statement at a full Committee hearing titled, “More than a Shot in the Arm: The Need for Additional COVID-19 Stimulus.”
Chairwoman Waters Gives Floor Statement on FY2021 Joint Budget Resolution on COVID-19 Relief
February 3, 2021
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, gave a floor statement on the urgent need to pass the FY2021 Joint Budget Resolution on COVID-19 relief.
Committee on Small Business
Statement of Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez on State of the Small Business Economy in the Era of COVID-19
February 4, 2021
Nydia M. Velazquez, Chairwoman of the Committee on Small Business, issued a statement on the state of the small business economy in the era of COVID-19.
Federal Agencies
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee of Inspector Generals
PRAC Releases Virtual Stakeholder Listening Forum with Experts from the Banking Industry
February 4, 2021
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s (PRAC’s) Financial Sector Oversight working group released a new video of a forum titled “Pandemic Response: Perspectives from the Banking Industry.” The working group is comprised of Inspectors General (IGs) with oversight responsibilities in the areas of banking, lending and housing – representing the Offices of Inspectors General at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve Board/Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, and the Treasury, as well as the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Response.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Requests Comment on Potential Money Market Fund Reform Options Highlighted in President’s Working Group Report
February 4, 2021
The Securities and Exchange Commission published a request for public comment on potential reform measures to improve the resilience of money market funds as highlighted in a report of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets issued in December 2020. The report noted that certain short-term funding markets experienced stress in March 2020 amid economic concerns related to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Department of Labor
Labor Department Issues Release on Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims
February 4, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a release regarding weekly unemployment insurance claims. The release states that, in the week ending January 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 779,000, a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week’s revised level; the previous week’s level was revised down by 35,000 from 847,000 to 812,000; the four-week moving average was 848,250, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week’s revised average; and, the previous week’s average was revised down by 18,500 from 868,000 to 849,500.
State Agencies
New York State Department of Financial Services
Superintendent Lacewell Announces DFS Issues Cybersecurity Insurance Risk Framework
February 4, 2021
Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell announced the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued a new Cyber Insurance Risk Framework. The framework outlines industry best practices for New York-regulated property/casualty insurers that write cyber insurance to effectively manage their cyber insurance risk. The framework is the first guidance by a U.S. regulator on cyber insurance.
Governor Cuomo Announces Findings of New York Investigation of Redlining in Buffalo
February 4, 2021
Following Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s 2021 State of the State proposal to increase homeownership rates in communities that have been adversely impacted by redlining, Mr. Cuomo announced the findings of a new report by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) on redlining in the Buffalo metropolitan area.
International
Bank of England
Monthly Decision Maker Panel Data - January 2021
February 4, 2021
According to the January 2021 Decision Maker Panel survey results, businesses estimated that their sales in 2021 Q1 would be 21% lower than they otherwise would have been because of COVID-19, with employment 8% lower and investment 23% lower. Near-term sales expectations were revised down in January for 2021 Q1 and 2021 Q2, by 6 percentage points and 2 percentage points respectively. The impact of COVID on sales was expected to ease during 2021 from -21% in 2021 Q1 to -11% in 2021 Q2 and -6% in 2021 Q3.