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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Friday, December 4, 2020

December 04, 2020

FedACTion Task Force

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PH Client Alerts

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Major Developments

Financial Stability Oversight Council Releases 2020 Annual Report

December 3, 2020

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (Council) unanimously approved its 2020 annual report. The report analyzes the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the policy responses to mitigate its impact on the economy and the financial system. The report describes significant financial market and regulatory developments, potential emerging threats to U.S. financial stability and recommendations to promote U.S. financial stability. Such recommendations include financial regulatory agencies (i) continuing to monitoring levels of nonfinancial business leverage to assess the ability of the financial sector to absorb losses and (ii) ensuring that the largest financial institutions maintain sufficient capital and liquidity to ensure their resiliency against economic and financial shocks.

Click here to read more from our Coronavirus series.

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 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

Securities and Exchange Commission

Remarks on Effect of COVID-19 at Meeting of SEC Investor Advisory Committee

December 3, 2020

Hester M. Peirce, Commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), gave remarks at the meeting of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee, noting that corporate disclosures to date have varied in the extent to which they discuss the effect of COVID on operations, financial condition and expectations of future performance.

U.S. Department of Labor

Labor Department Issues Release on Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims

December 3, 2020

The U.S. Department of Labor issued a release regarding weekly unemployment insurance claims. The release states that, in the week ending November 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 712,000, a decrease of 75,000 from the previous week’s revised level; the previous week’s level was revised up by 9,000 from 778,000 to 787,000; the four-week moving average was 739,500, a decrease of 11,250 from the previous week’s revised average; and the previous week’s average was revised up by 2,250 from 748,500 to 750,750.

International

Speech: The Fox and the Hedgehog: Preparing in a World of High Risk and High Uncertainty

December 3, 2020

Charlotte Gerken, Executive Director of Insurance at the Bank of England (BoE), gave a speech at the Insurance Risk and Capital EMEA 2020 virtual conference titled “The Fox and the Hedgehog: Preparing in a World of High Risk and High Uncertainty.” Ms. Gerken discusses some of the tactical steps the BoE has taken around the financial markets and macro-economic impact of COVID-19 on insurers.

Monthly Decision Maker Panel Data - November 2020

December 3, 2020

The Bank of England has released data for its Monthly Decision Maker Panel (DMP) for November 2020. According to the November DMP survey, businesses estimated that their sales in the fourth quarter of 2020 would be 15% lower than they otherwise would have been because of COVID-19, with employment 6% lower and investment 25% lower.

Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority

Statement Regarding Supervisory Cooperation on Operational Resilience

December 3, 2020

The Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) released a statement regarding supervisory cooperation on operational resilience. According to the statement, banks have made progress in enhancing operational resilience in recent years, including through their response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.