PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Wednesday, March 3, 2021
March 03, 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)
- Treasury Announces Key Staff Appointment (March 2, 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)
- Brown Opening Statement at Nomination Hearing for SEC Chair and CFPB Director (March 2, 2021)
- Toomey Opening Statement During Chopra, Gensler Nomination Hearing (March 2, 2021)
Securities and Exchange Commission – Gary Gensler (Nominee)
- Acting Chair: Allison Herren Lee (January 21, 2021)
- Confirmation hearing 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)
- Readout of Chairman Brown’s Meeting with Gary Gensler Nominee to be Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (February 26, 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 – Dr. Miguel Cardona
- Education Announces Senior Appointees (January 21, 2021)
- Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees (February 3, 2021)
- Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees (February 25, 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 Warren and Brown Sent Letter Calling on Regulators to End the Temporary Reduction in Banks’ Capital Requirements
March 2, 2021
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Vice Chair Randal Quarles, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Jelena McWilliams, and Acting Comptroller Blake Paulson, calling on the regulators to end the temporary reduction in banks’ capital requirements and resist pressure for an extension in the deregulation.
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Chairman Cardin and Senator Reed Outline Plan to Get Targeted COVID-19 Relief to Small Businesses and Critical Community Services
March 2, 2021
U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship Chair Ben Cardin (D-MD) and U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) discussed the need for targeted COVID-19 relief for small businesses and states, localities and Tribal nations, and U.S. Territories responsible for essential community services.
Federal Agencies
Federal Reserve Board
Speech- Federal Reserve Governor Brainard on U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy: An Update
March 2, 2021
Governor Lael Brainard, Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, gave a speech at the C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations, titled “U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy: An Update.”
National Credit Union Association
Chairman Harper Appoints Hood to NeighborWorks America Board of Directors
March 2, 2021
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman Todd M. Harper appointed Board Member Rodney E. Hood as the NCUA’s representative on the Board of Directors of NeighborWorks America, an affordable housing and community development organization.
U.S. Small Business Administration
Report: The Effects Of The COVID-19 Pandemic On Small Businesses
March 2, 2021
The Small Business Administration issued a report titled “The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Small Businesses.” The report examines the effects of COVID-19 on small businesses using the first sets of available economic data. The economic impact of the pandemic varied from place to place, with metropolitan and coastal areas hardest hit. Additionally, some industries suffered more than others, with the largest declines in restaurant and taxi and limousine services. Disproportionate metropolitan impacts contributed to differences across demographic categories, with Black and Asian business owners suffering the most.
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Prepayment Monitoring Report- Fourth Quarter 2020
March 2, 2021
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released the Prepayment Monitoring Report for the fourth quarter of 2020. FHFA has taken a number of steps to promote the continued consistency of prepayment rates of Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-issued mortgage-backed securities. The quarterly report provides market participants additional transparency into a sample of the data FHFA receives and reviews on a monthly basis.
International
UK Financial Conduct Authority
FCA Launches Pre-Paid Funeral Plans Consultation
March 2, 2021
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a consultation on how it plans to regulate the pre-paid funeral plans sector. The consultation, which closes on April 13, 2021, lays out draft rules showing how the FCA will improve standards in the sector.