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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Wednesday, June 23, 2021

June 23, 2021

FedACTion Task Force

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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

Committee Conducts Hearing on Nominations

June 22, 2021

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs met in open session to conduct a hearing on the following nominations to positions with the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury): Mr. Brian Eddie Nelson, of California, to be Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes; and Ms. Elizabeth Rosenberg, of Vermont, to be Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee on Financial Services

Waters Urges Federal Agencies to Extend Moratoria on Foreclosures

June 22, 2021

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, sent a letter to Marcia Fudge, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Denis McDonough, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Dave Uejio, Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB); and Mark Calabria, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, urging them to administratively extend their moratoria on foreclosures at least until the CFPB is able to finalize and implement its pandemic recovery mortgage servicing rule.

Federal Agencies

Federal Reserve Board

Federal Reserve Board Extends Comment Period on Proposed Changes to Regulation II Regarding Network Availability for Card-Not-Present Debit Card Transactions until August 11, 2021

June 22, 2021

The Federal Reserve Board announced on Tuesday that it will extend until August 11, 2021, the comment period for its proposed changes to Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing) that would clarify that debit card issuers should enable, and allow merchants to choose from, at least two unaffiliated networks for card-not-present debit card transactions, such as online purchases.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Blog Post: Cyberattacks and Supply Chain Disruptions

June 22, 2021

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published a Liberty Street Economics blog post titled “Cyberattacks and Supply Chain Disruptions,” in which the post’s authors show that certain malicious cyberattacks designed to paralyze IT infrastructures can have devastating effects not only on the directly-hit firms, but also on other firms through supply chain linkages.

Blog Post

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Report: Minority Borrowers Bore Brunt of COVID-19’s Mortgage Market Impact

June 22, 2021

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston published a report titled “Racial Differences in Mortgage Refinancing, Distress, and Housing Wealth Accumulation during COVID-19.” The report examines how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated racial disparities in U.S. mortgage markets, and finds that Black, Hispanic, and Asian borrowers were significantly more likely than white borrowers to miss payments due to financial distress, and significantly less likely to refinance to take advantage of the large decline in interest rates.

Securities and Exchange Commission

Speech: Can the SEC Make ESG Rules that are Sustainable?

June 22, 2021

Elad L. Roisman, a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), delivered a speech entitled “Can the SEC Make ESG Rules that are Sustainable?” at the National Investor Relations Institute’s 2021 Virtual Conference. In his speech, Commissioner Roisman outlined questions he believes the SEC must address before it can promulgate sustainable rules regarding environmental, social, and governance matters.

Speech

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Blog Post: New Data Show Improving Yet Sustained Housing Insecurity Risks

June 22, 2021

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a blog post providing an update to its March 2021 report on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing insecurity. The blog post includes updated charts that show, generally, an improving economic picture but sustained housing insecurity risks.

Blog Post

U.S. Small Business Administration

SBA Reconvenes Council on Underserved Communities

June 22, 2021

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced it is reconvening the Council on Underserved Communities under the authority of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

Federal Housing Finance Agency

FHFA Releases 1st Quarter 2021 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report

June 22, 2021

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its first quarter 2021 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report, which shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 224,646 foreclosure prevention actions in the first quarter of 2021, bringing the total number of homeowners who have been helped during conservatorships to 5.812 million.

International

UK Financial Conduct Authority

FCA Consults on Further Climate-Related Disclosure Rules

June 22, 2021

The UK Financial Conduct Authority published new proposals on climate-related disclosure rules for listed companies and certain regulated firms. The proposals follow the introduction of climate-related disclosure rules for the most prominent listed commercial companies in December 2020, which are aligned with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

Speech: Building a Regulatory Environment for the Future

June 22, 2021

Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Financial Conduct Authority, delivered a speech entitled “Building a Regulatory Environment for the Future” at the City Week 2021 virtual summit.