PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Thursday, February 26, 2021
February 26, 2021
FedACTion Task Force
Subscribe to PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
PH Client Alerts
Click here to read more from our Coronavirus series.
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 scheduled for March 2, 2021
- 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 scheduled for March 2, 2021
- 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)
- Small Business Committee Votes to Advance SBA Administrator Nominee Isabel Guzman (February 24, 2021)
- 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.
U.S. Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Senators Brown and Toomey Deliver Opening Statements at Hearing on COVID-19 and Small Businesses
February 25, 2021
U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH),Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Pat Toomey (R-PA), the Ranking Member, delivered opening statements at a hearing entitled “The Coronavirus Crisis: Next Steps for Rebuilding Main Street.”
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Financial Services
Subcommittee Holds Hearing – “Dollars Against Democracy: Domestic Terrorist Financing in the Aftermath of Insurrection”
February 25, 2021
The U.S. House Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy held a hearing addressing domestic terrorism and the methods by which domestic terrorists fund their activities.
Federal Agencies
Department of the Treasury
Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund Opens Funding Round for CDFI Rapid Response Program
February 25, 2021
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund opened the fiscal year 2021 funding round for the CDFI Rapid Response Program. The program will provide $1.25 billion to Community Development Financial Institutions to help their communities respond to the economic hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen Delivers Letter to G20 Colleagues
February 25, 2021
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen sent a letter to her G20 colleagues on economic issues.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Advances Its Work on Operational Measures to Prosecute Terrorist Financing and Virtual Assets
February 25, 2021
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) concluded its second plenary meeting during the German Presidency, its third virtual plenary since the start of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The FATF advanced its work on several issues, including finalizing a non-public report on terrorist financing and agreeing to seek public comment on updated guidance documents on virtual assets and proliferation finance.
Federal Banking Agencies
Federal Banking Agencies Issue Shared National Credit Review
February 25, 2021
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released the 2020 Shared National Credit Review. Credit risk for large, syndicated loans has increased over the last year. According to the report, the elevated risk is largely attributed to the effects of COVD-19. Although risk has increased, many agent banks have strengthened their risk management systems since the prior downturn and are better equipped to measure and mitigate risks associated with loans in the current environment.
Federal Reserve Board
Speech by Vice Chair for Supervision Quarles Delivers Speech on the Role of Stress Testing
February 25, 2021
Randal K. Quarles, Vice Chair for Supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, delivered a speech on the role of stress tests, including innovations in the field.
Office of Inspector General Releases Calendar Year 2019 Risk Assessment of the Board’s Government Travel Card Program
February 25, 2021
The Office of Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) released an analysis of the Board’s government travel card program. Board travel cards were used for 26,149 transactions totaling some $9.8 million in 2019.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
President Williams Delivers Speech: “The Economic Outlook: Getting Back to ‘More Like Normal’”
February 25, 2021
John C. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, delivered a speech at One Hundred Black Men of New York, a non-profit organization that supports Black communities in New York City.
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
Federal and State Regulators Release Updates to the BSA/AML Examination Manual
February 25, 2021
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council released updates to four sections of the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Examination Manual. The updates affect the following manual sections:
- Introduction - Assessing Compliance with Bank Secrecy Act Regulatory Requirements
- Customer Identification Program
- Currency Transaction Reporting
- Transactions of Exempt Persons
Department of Housing and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration
HUD Awards $5.5 Billion in Grants to Local Communities for Affordable Housing and to Serve Individuals and Families
February 25, 2021
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $5.5 billion in funding to local programs throughout the country that provide affordable housing, community development and economic opportunity, and support to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
HUD Awards $1.5 Million to Help Families Improve their Economic Well-Being
February 25, 2021
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded approximately $1.5 million to 13 public housing authorities to help residents of public housing and voucher-assisted housing increase their earned income and savings.
Federal Housing Finance Agency
FHFA Extends COVID-19 Forbearance Period and Foreclosure and REO Eviction Moratoriums
February 25, 2021
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced extensions of several measures to align COVID-19 mortgage relief policies across the federal government.
Department of Labor
DOL Releases Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report Update
February 25, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor released an Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report update. In the week ending February 20, 2021, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 730,000, a decrease of 111,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 20,000 from 861,000 to 841,000. The four-week moving average was 807,750, a decrease of 20,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 5,000 from 833,250 to 828,250.
International
European Banking Authority
ESAs Issue Recommendations on the Application of the Regulation on Sustainability-Related Disclosures
February 25, 2021
The European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and European Securities and Markets Authority, the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), published a joint supervisory statement on the effective and consistent application and national supervision of the Regulation on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector. The statement complements the recently released draft regulatory technical standards issued by the ESAs Joint Committee on February 4, 2021.