PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Friday, March 11, 2022
March 11, 2022
FedACtion Task Force
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Congress
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Financial Services
Waters Announces Committee Appropriations Provisions in 2022 Omnibus Legislation
March 9, 2022
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, announced the provisions championed by the Committee that have been included in the 2022 omnibus spending bill, including:
- Division U – Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act – which establishes a legal and regulatory process for certain financial contracts that reference the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and do not contain sufficient language that would allow them to continue to function as originally intended after LIBOR is discontinued.
- Division T – Credit Union Governance Modernization Act – which reforms the process governing expulsion of Federal credit union members.
- Title III of Division HH – CARES Act Testimony – which reduces the frequency of testimony that the Treasury Secretary and the Chair of the Federal Reserve must testify before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs through the end of 2027.
- Title I of Division O – Flood Insurance – which extends the authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through September 30, 2022.
- Press Release
Federal Agencies
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasury and IRS Announce Plan to End Pandemic Inventory Backlog This Year
March 10, 2022
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo and IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig outlined an aggressive plan that will end the pandemic backlog this year.
Speech: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo Highlights Emergency Rental Assistance Programs
March 10, 2022
U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo spoke in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's tour of American Rescue Plan programs this week.
Securities and Exchange Commission
Remarks at Meeting of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee
March 10, 2022
Chair Gary Gensler and Commissioner Hester M. Peirce issued remarks at the meeting of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
New effort focused on financial issues facing rural communities
March 10, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has launched a new initiative to focus on financial issues facing rural America. The effort will initially focus on so-called rural banking deserts, discriminatory and predatory agricultural credit, and manufactured housing.
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Financial Action Task Force Identifies Jurisdictions with Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and Counter-Proliferation Deficiencies
March 10, 2022
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is informing U.S. financial institutions that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental body that establishes international standards to combat money laundering, counter the financing of terrorism, and combat weapons of mass destruction proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF), has issued public statements updating its lists of jurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT/CPF deficiencies following its plenary meeting this month.
U.S. Department of Labor
US Department of Labor cautions 401(k) plan fiduciaries to exercise extreme care as they consider cryptocurrencies
March 10, 2022
The U.S. Department of Labor has published compliance assistance for 401(k) plan fiduciaries considering plan investments in cryptocurrencies, in an effort aimed at protecting the retirement savings of U.S. workers.
Bank Policy Institute
BPI Statement in Response to Executive Order on Digital Assets
March 9, 2022
Bank Policy Institute President and CEO Greg Baer issued a statement in response to a Presidential Executive Order directing federal agencies to address the risks posed by digital assets, study how existing regulations and policies apply and further evaluate whether there's an appropriate role for central bank digital currency within the U.S. economy.
International
European Commission
State aid: Commission statement on consulting Member States on a proposal for a Temporary Crisis Framework to support the economy in context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
March 10, 2022
The European Commission has sent to Member States for consultation a draft proposal for a State aid Temporary Crisis Framework to support the EU economy in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The draft proposal is based on Article 107(3)(b) TFEU, which allows aid to be granted to remedy a serious disturbance across the EU economy.
Administration Changes
Vacancies
Federal Reserve Board
- Vice Chair for Supervision – Sarah Bloom Raskin nominated January 14, 2022 (nomination hearing held on February 3, 2022)
- Governor – Lisa Cook nominated January 14, 2022
(nomination hearing held on February 3, 2022) - Governor – Phillip Jefferson, nominated January 14, 2022
(nomination hearing held on February 3, 2022)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Chair – Vacant (Martin Gruenberg serves as Acting Chair)
- Vice Chairman
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
- Comptroller – Vacant (Michael Hsu serves as Acting Comptroller)
Commodity Futures Commission
- Three (3) Commissioner Vacancies
Appointments/Confirmation Hearings
U.S. Department of the Treasury - Janet Yellen (effective January 26, 2021)
Federal Reserve Board
- Statement by Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell on his nomination by President Biden (November 22, 2021)
- Statement by Governor Lael Brainard on her nomination by President Biden (November 22, 2021)
- Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen Statement on Federal Reserve Nominations (November 22, 2021)
- Statement by Secretary Walsh on Federal Reserve Nominations (November 22, 2021)
- Brown Statement on the Renomination of Jerome Powell for Fed Chair (November 22, 2021)
- Toomey Statement on Renomination of Jerome Powell for Fed Chair (November 22, 2021)
- Brown Applauds Biden's Nomination of Governor Lael Brainard for Vice Chair (November 22, 2021)
- Brown Applauds Biden's Nominees for Fed Board (January 14, 2022)
- Toomey Statement on President Biden's Fed Nominees (January 14, 2022)
- Waters Applauds Nominations of Sarah Bloom Raskin, Lisa Cook, and Philip Jefferson to Leadership Roles in the Federal Reserve (January 14, 2022)
- Statement by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen on Federal Reserve Nominations (January 14, 2022)
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - Rohit Chopra (effective October 12, 2021)
- Statement by House Committee on Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters on Rohit Chopra's Confirmation (September 30, 2021)
- CSBS Statement on Rohit Chopra Confirmation as CFPB Director (September 30, 2021)
Securities and Exchange Commission - Gary Gensler (effective April 17, 2021)
- LizAnn Eisen Joins Division of Corporation Finance as Deputy Director, Disclosure Program (January 27, 2022)
- Lori H. Price Named Acting Director of the Office of Credit Ratings; Ahmed Abonamah to Leave SEC (February 1, 2022)
- Kelly L. Gibson, Director of the Philadelphia Regional Office, to Leave the SEC; Scott Thompson and Joy Thompson named Office Acting Co-Heads (February 11, 2022)
Small Business Administration - Isabella Casillas Guzman (effective March 16, 2021)
- Statement by Administrator Guzman Applauding President Biden's Appointees to Lead SBA Regional Offices (November 18, 2021)
- Statement by Administrator Guzman Applauding President Biden's New Appointees to the U.S. Small Business Administration (December 6, 2021)
- Statement by Administrator Guzman Applauding President Biden's New Appointees to the U.S. Small Business Administration (January 25, 2022)
Commodity Futures Trade Commission – Rostin Behnam (effective December 17, 2021)
- Kristin Johnson, Nominee for Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (September 13, 2021)
- Christy Goldsmith Romero, Nominee for Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (September 13, 2021)
- U.S. Senate Unanimously Confirms Behnam as Chairman (December 17, 2021)
- CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam Announces Executive Staff Appointments (January 20, 2022)
- CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam Appoints Initial CFTC Leadership (January 25, 2022)
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
National Credit Union Administration - Todd M. Harper
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Marcia Fudge (effective March 10, 2021)
- Adrianne Todman Sworn in as Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (June 15, 2021)
- Statement from Secretary Marcia L. Fudge on the Confirmation of Alanna McCargo (December 15, 2021)
- Statement from Secretary Marcia L. Fudge on the Confirmation of Alanna McCargo (February 15, 2022)
Federal Housing Finance Agency – Sandra L. Thompson
- Brown Statement on the Selection of Sandra Thompson to Lead FHFA (December 14, 2021)
- Waters Applauds Biden's Nomination of Sandra L. Thompson as Permanent Director of the FHFA (December 14, 2021)
- Statement from HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge on the Nomination of Sandra Thompson (December 14, 2021)
U.S. Department of Education - Dr. Miguel Cardona (effective March 2, 2021)
- Secretary Cardona Statement on Confirmation of Education Department Officials Brown, Rodriguez and Graham (October 6, 2021)
- Statement from Secretary Miguel Cardona on the Confirmation of Catherine Lhamon as Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights (October 20, 2021)
- Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on the Confirmation of Sandra Bruce as the Department's Inspector General (December 3, 2021)
- Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on President Biden's Nomination of LaWanda Toney (December 16, 2021)
PH Client Alerts
Click here to read more from our Coronavirus series.
Legislation/Legislative Updates
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.