PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Saturday, February 6, 2020
February 06, 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)
- Kelly L. Gibson Named Acting Deputy Director of Division of Enforcement
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. Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Senators Reed, Brown, and Leahy Reintroduce Homeowner Assistance Fund Legislation
February 5, 2021
U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, reintroduced the $75 billion Homeowner Assistance Fund bill. The bill is designed to protect struggling homeowners and communities by preventing avoidable foreclosures, evictions and utility shutoffs. Senators Reed, Brown and Leahy are seeking to include language from the bill in the American Rescue Plan to help protect homeowners from COVID-19-related financial hardships.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Financial Services
Subcommittee Holds Virtual Hearing on Supporting Small and Minority-Owned Businesses during COVID-19
February 5, 2021
The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy held a virtual hearing entitled, “Supporting Small and Minority-Owned Businesses Through the Pandemic” on Thursday, February 4.
Federal Agencies
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
OCC Continues to Approve Crypto Bank Charters
February 5, 2021
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced the conditional approval of the conversion of Protego Trust Company, a Washington state-chartered trust company, to become Protego Trust Bank, National Association. Protego becomes the second national bank focused in the cryptocurrency space approved by the OCC.
Department of the Treasury
Treasury Secretary Yellen Issues Statement on Historic Impact of Economic Crises on People of Color
February 5, 2021
Janet Yellen, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, spoke at a virtual roundtable with Vice President Kamala D. Harris and participants from local Black Chambers of Commerce to discuss the importance of passing the American Rescue Plan. In her prepared remarks, Secretary Yellen addressed the history of economic crises affecting people of color more acutely and for longer.
Federal Reserve Board
Federal Reserve Board Issues December 2020 Consumer Credit Report
February 5, 2021
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) issued its Consumer Credit Report (Report) for December 2020. The Report showed that in 2020, revolving credit decreased 11.2% and nonrevolving credit increased 3.9%, leaving total consumer credit little changed.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
FRBNY Publishes Blog Post on Main Street Lending Program
February 5, 2021
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published a Liberty Street Economics blog post entitled “Up on Main Street”. In the post, the authors examine the Main Street Lending Program as part of the broader construct of COVID-19 credit programs and analyze its design and usage with an eye toward future programs.
Department of Labor
BLS Issues January Jobs Report
February 5, 2021
The United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released its report titled “The Employment Situation” (Jobs Report) for January 2021. According to the Jobs Report, the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 6.3% in January, while nonfarm payroll employment changed little, increasing by 49,000.
International
Bank of England
Bailey Delivers Speech on Modern Challenges Facing Central Banks
February 5, 2021
Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, delivered a speech entitled “Modern Challenges for the Modern Central Bank: Perspectives from the Bank of England,” at the LSE German Symposium. In his speech, Bailey examined how central banks are adapting to new types of shocks to the economy; how they use monetary policy to keep inflation under control; and how central banks can act while maintaining their reputation for independence.
Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority
PRA Releases Statement on COVID-19 Regulatory Reporting Amendments
February 5, 2021
The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) released a statement setting forth the PRA’s approach to regulatory reporting for PRA-regulated UK banks, building societies, designated investment firms and credit unions in response to current COVID-19 conditions.
UK Financial Conduct Authority
FCA Report Outlines Firm Practices to Reduce Consumer Harm Caused by Failed Technology Changes
February 5, 2021
A report by the UK Financial Conduct Authority examines how firms implement technology change, the challenges caused when changes fail, and steps firms can take to protect consumers from harm and disruption in the market.