PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Wednesday, January 20, 2020
January 20, 2021
FedACTion Task Force
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Major Developments
PH FedACTion is now including updates to the regulatory landscape by the Biden-Harris Administration in addition to our continuing updates regarding the federal and state legal and regulatory response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Administration Changes
Appointments/Confirmation Hearings
Department of the Treasury – Janet Yellen (nominee)
- Confirmation hearing conducted January 19, 2021
- Floor Vote expected January 21, 2021 (additional detail to follow)
- Nominee Opening Statement
- Chairman Charles Grassley’s Opening Statement
- Ranking Member Ron Wyden’s Opening Statement
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Rohit Chopra (nominee)
- Confirmation hearing to be scheduled (additional detail to follow)
Securities and Exchange Commission – Gary Gensler (nominee)
- Confirmation hearing to be scheduled (additional detail to follow)
Small Business Administration – Isabel Guzman (nominee)
- Confirmation hearing to be scheduled (additional detail to follow)
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
Conference of State Bank Supervisors
CSBS Publishes Blog Post on Current Community Banker Concerns
January 19, 2021
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) published a blog post entitled “What Keeps Your Local Community Banker Up at Night?”, in which the CSBS examined issues facing community bankers during the uncertainty and economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
National Credit Union Administration
Agencies Approve Rule on the Role of Supervisory Guidance
January 19, 2021
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and National Credit Union Administration approved a final rule outlining and confirming the agencies’ use of supervisory guidance for regulated institutions. The final rule codifies the interagency statement on the role of supervisory guidance, as amended, issued in September 2018 to clarify the differences between regulations and guidance, and states that the statement is binding on the agency.
- Final Rule
- News Release
- Financial Institution Letter
- OCC News Release
- CFPB News Release
- NCUA News Release
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
CFTC Staff Provides Limited Continuation of Certain No-Action Relief to Market Participants in Response to COVID-19
January 19, 2021
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced the Market Participants Division and the Division of Market Oversight are providing a short continuation of limited parts of the temporary no-action relief issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that expired on January 15, 2021.
CFPB Release Details Prioritized Assessment Work
January 19, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights release, detailing the CFPB’s Prioritized Assessment (PA) supervisory work conducted last year after the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The release describes PA observations in the areas of mortgage, auto and student loan servicing, credit card account management, consumer reporting-furnishing, debt collection, deposits, prepaid cards, and small business lending.
U.S. Small Business Administration
SBA Provides Update on PPP Loan Approval
January 19, 2021
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced it has approved approximately 60,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications submitted by nearly 3,000 lenders, for more than $5 billion, between the program’s re-opening on January 11 and January 17.
International
European Commission
Commission Sets Out Key Actions for United Front to Beat COVID-19
January 19, 2021
Two days ahead of a meeting of European leaders on a coordinated response to COVID-19, the European Commission (Commission) set out several actions needed to intensify the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In a communication adopted today, the Commission calls on Member States to accelerate the rollout of vaccination across the EU.
European Banking Authority
EBA Observes Increase in Asset Encumbrance Ratio Amidst Extensive Use of Central Bank Facilities
January 18, 2021
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its annual report (Report) on asset encumbrance. According to the Report, as COVID-19 spread across Europe and activity in primary markets froze, banks made extensive use of central bank liquidity facilities to build precautionary liquidity buffers and the asset encumbrance ratio rose substantially as a result thereof in the first half of 2020.