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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Friday, October 8, 2021

October 08, 2021

By Paul Hastings Professional

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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

Hearing: Committee Nomination Hearing

October 7, 2021

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs conducted a hearing on the following nominations:

Mr. Matthew Axelrod, to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce;

Ms. Alanna McCargo, to be President, Government National Mortgage Association, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD);

Mr. James Arthur Jemison II, to be an Assistant Secretary of HUD; and

Mr. Mark Colon, to be an Assistant Secretary of HUD.

Federal Agencies

U.S. Department of the Treasury

Treasury Releases Climate Action Plan

October 7, 2021

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released the Treasury Climate Action Plan, which is directed by Section 211 of Executive Order 14008 and the Treasury's efforts to bolster adaptation and increase resilience of its facilities and operations to the impacts of climate change.

Federal Reserve Board

Speech: Governor Brainard on Building Climate Scenario Analysis on the Foundations of Economic Research

October 7, 2021

Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard gave a speech titled, "Building Climate Scenario Analysis on the Foundations of Economic Research," at the 2021 Federal Reserve Stress Testing Research Conference.

Speech

Paper: A Structural Measure of the Shadow Federal Funds Rate

October 7, 2021

The Federal Reserve Board published a staff working paper titled, "A Structural Measure of the Shadow Federal Funds Rate."

Full Paper

Securities and Exchange Commission

Speech: PLI Broker/Dealer Regulation and Enforcement 2021

October 6, 2021

Gurbir Grewal, Director of the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission, gave a speech titled, "PLI Broker/Dealer Regulation and Enforcement 2021."

Speech

U.S. Small Business Administration

Report: SBA Emergency EIDL Grants to Sole Proprietors and Independent Contractors

October 7, 2021

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Inspector General published a report titled, "SBA's Emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Grants to Sole Proprietors and Independent Contractors," examining Emergency EIDL grants to sole proprietors and independent contractors from March 29, 2020, until the funds were exhausted on July 10, 2020.

Report

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration

HUD Releases Agency Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan

October 7, 2021

As part of President Biden's whole-of-government approach to confronting the climate crisis, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its climate adaptation and resilience plan to ensure its facilities and operations adapt and are increasingly resilient to climate change impacts.

Fannie Mae

High Home Prices Continue to Weigh on Homebuying Sentiment

October 7, 2021

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) decreased 1.2 points to 74.5 in September, as survey respondents continued to report divergent opinions of homebuying and home-selling conditions. Overall, three of the index's six components decreased month over month. Most notably, an even greater share of consumers reported that it's a bad time to buy a home – with that number now sitting at 66 percent, up from 63 percent last month and significantly higher than the 28% of respondents who believe it's a good time to buy. The home-selling conditions component remained mostly flat, with a strong majority of consumers maintaining that it's a good time to sell. Year over year, the full index is down 6.5 points.

Freddie Mac

Freddie Mac Announces New Bond Program Focused on Affordable Housing

October 7, 2021

Freddie Mac announced that the company plans to offer at least $3 billion in single-family affordable housing bonds. This new bond program will support affordable homeownership and serve historically underserved markets. To underscore this effort, today the company will offer approximately $285 million in Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities™ backed by loans purchased through its Home Possible® program.

Press Release

U.S. Department of Labor

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report Update

October 7, 2021

In the week ending October 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 326,000, a decrease of 38,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 362,000 to 364,000. The 4-week moving average was 344,000, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 340,000 to 340,500.

Report

State Agencies

New York State Department of Financial Services

The Department of Financial Services and Empire State Development Award $5 Million in Grants to Expand Affordable Banking Services in Underserved Communities

October 7, 2021

The New York State Department of Financial Services and Empire State Development announced the first awards from the New York State Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund to support access to safe and affordable banking services in historically underserved and low-income communities across New York State. With a multi-year $25 million state-commitment, the CDFI Fund will provide resources for the growth of New York State CDFIs to support the delivery of affordable financial products and services and financial literacy programming to low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. The CDFI Fund will also increase access to capital and technical assistance services for New York State small businesses and non-profit organizations.

Press Release

California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation

Report: DFPI Report Shows Changes in Consumer Lending, Decrease in PACE Program

October 7, 2021

A new report from the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) shows a sharp decrease in some types of consumer loans and an increase in others, underscoring a change in consumer behavior likely impacted by a number of factors, including the global COVID-19 pandemic, an injection of state and federal financial assistance, and an increase in the reporting of alternative financing products.

International

European Banking Authority

EBA Updates Risk Assessment Indicators

October 7, 2021

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published an updated list of indicators for risk assessment and risk analysis tools, together with an accompanying methodological guide. Without adding any reporting burden either on reporting institutions or on competent authorities, this guidance describes how risk indicators are computed in EBA publications and allows competent authorities and users of EBA data to interpret key bank figures in a consistent fashion when conducting their risk assessments and analyses.

Bank of England

Monthly Decision Maker Panel Data - September 2021

October 7, 2021

The Bank of England published its September Decision Maker Panel (DMP) Survey, which is a monthly survey of Chief Financial Officers from small, medium and large UK businesses.