Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Friday, June 11, 2021

June 11, 2021

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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.

U.S. Senate

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Toomey Raises Concern Over Burdensome Cryptocurrency Regulations

June 10, 2021

U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-PA) urged the Department of Treasury to significantly revise two recent proposals related to the regulation and oversight of cryptocurrencies.

Banking Subcommittee Holds Meeting on Building A Stronger Financial System: Opportunities of a Central Bank Digital Currency

June 9, 2021

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy conducted a hearing entitled, “Building A Stronger Financial System: Opportunities of a Central Bank Digital Currency.” The witnesses were: Dr. Neha Narula, Director, Digital Currency Initiative, MIT; Mr. Lev Menand, Academic Fellow and Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School; The Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo, Senior Counsel, Willkie Farr & Gallagher; and Dr. Darrell Duffie, Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Finance, Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Federal Agencies

Department of the Treasury

Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen Delivers Testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

June 10, 2021

Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. Secretary Yellen discussed four areas of the Biden Administration’s budget proposal: funding for international financial institutions; low-income-country debt; funding for the International Monetary Fund’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust; support for low-income nations with respect to climate change.

Testimony

Federal Reserve Board

Federal Reserve Releases Report on Financial Accounts of the United States

June 10, 2021

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System released data with respect to the financial accounts of the United States. Household net worth increased by about $5 trillion in the first quarter, reflecting large gains in stock prices, home prices, and a high saving rate. Household debt grew at an annual pace of 6.5%, mainly because of continued growth in home mortgages. Nonfinancial business debt increased at an annual rate of 4.4%, reflecting the second round of loans extended under the Paycheck Protection Program and solid corporate bond issuance.

Securities and Exchange Commission

SEC Issues Investor Bulletin on Funds Trading in Bitcoin Futures

June 10, 2021

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Office of Customer Education and Outreach issued a bulletin urging investors considering funds with exposure to the Bitcoin futures market to weigh carefully the potential risks and benefits of the investment.

Investor Bulletin

Gensler, Peirce and Roisman Deliver Statements at Investor Advisory Committee Meeting

June 10, 2021

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, Commissioner Hester M. Peirce and Commissioner Elad L. Roisman delivered remarks at a meeting of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee.

International

Bank of England

Segal Knowles Delivers Speech on Stablecoins: What’s old is New Again

June 10, 2021

Christina Segal-Knowles, the Bank of England’s Executive Director for Financial Markets Infrastructure, delivered a speech aboutstablecoins at the Westminster eForum Policy Conference.