PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Saturday, February 20, 2021
February 20, 2021
By Paul Hastings Professional
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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)
- Kelly L. Gibson Named Acting Deputy Director of Division of Enforcement (February 5, 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 (January 26, 2021)
- Statement by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chairman Sherrod Brown (February 4, 2021)
- HUD Announces More Key Staff (February 16, 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.
Federal Agencies
Federal Reserve Board
Monetary Policy Report
February 19, 2021
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issued its Monetary Policy Report for February 2021. According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh heavily on economic activity and labor markets in the U.S. and around the world. Although fiscal stimulus and monetary policy supported a rapid rebound in the U.S. labor market last summer, the pace of gains has slowed and employment remains well below pre-pandemic levels.
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Speech: Perspectives on the Eventual Economic Recovery
February 19, 2021
Eric S. Rosengren, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, gave a speech at the Yale Economic Development Symposium titled “Perspectives on the Eventual Economic Recovery.”
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
Revisions to the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) Related to Asset Threshold Relief
February 19, 2021
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, of which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are members, published final regulatory reporting changes—related to asset threshold relief—to the Call Report. The changes are subject to approval by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
February 19, 2021
The Office of Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released its annual assessment of the top management and performance challenges facing the FDIC. The report summarizes the most serious challenges facing the FDIC and assesses its progress to address them.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
CFPB FinEx Webinar: Unpacking the Black Wealth Gap: Lessons in Understanding for Financial Practitioners
February 19, 2021
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 2:00-3:30 pm ET
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is hosting a webinar on February 23, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern titled “Unpacking the Black Wealth Gap: Lessons in Understanding for Financial Practitioners.” In the workshop, participants will hear about economic challenges, including credit discrimination, that Black Americans encounter. Over time, these challenges have led to today’s Black wealth gap.
U.S. Small Business Administration
SBA to Host Black History Month Live Online Panel February 25, 2021
February 18, 2021
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will host a live online panel session in celebration of Black History Month for a discussion on economic recovery with Black-owned small business owners from a variety of sectors that have used SBA resources to pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
US Department of Labor announces OSHA Will Investigate Complaints of Whistleblower Retaliation under New Antitrust and Money Laundering Laws
February 19, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration is now overseeing worker retaliation complaints filed under two new whistleblower statutes – the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
International
Bank of England
Revisiting the New Keynesian policy paradoxes under QE
February 19, 2021
The Bank of England released a staff working paper titled “Revisiting the New Keynesian Policy Paradoxes under QE.” According to the paper, standard New Keynesian models deliver puzzling results at the effective lower bound of short-term interest rates: greater price flexibility amplifies the fall in output in response to adverse demand shocks; labor tax cuts are contractionary; and the multipliers of wasteful government spending are large. Both analytically and numerically, the authors show that allowing the central bank to respond to inflation with quantitative easing can resolve these paradoxes.
Speech: An Update on the Economic Outlook
February 19, 2021
Gertjan Vlieghe, External Member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England, gave a speech titled “An Update on the Economic Outlook.” Mr. Vlieghe looks at recent developments in the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses how such developments affect the outlook for the economy and monetary policy. He considers how people have adapted to lockdown, the role of vaccines, and how new COVID variants might impact the economic recovery.