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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Friday, February 5, 2020

February 05, 2021

FedACTion Task Force

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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)

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Rohit Chopra (Nominee)

Securities and Exchange Commission – Gary Gensler (Nominee)

Small Business Administration – Isabel Guzman (Nominee)

Commodity Futures Trade Commission

National Credit Union Administration – Todd M. Harper

Department of Housing and Urban Development – Marcia Fudge (Nominee)

Department of Education – Miguel Cardona (Nominee)

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. House of Representatives

Committee on Financial Services

Chairwoman Waters Co-Leads Representative Pressley Resolution Calling for the Cancellation of $50,000 of Federal Student Loan Debt per Person

February 4, 2021

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, joined Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) as a co-lead of a resolution to cancel $50,000 of federal student loan debt per person. The resolution calls on the President to use executive authority to cancel student loan debt and ensure there is no tax liability for federal student loan borrowers resulting from administrative debt cancellation.

Chairwoman Waters Gives Statement at Committee Hearing on the Need for Additional COVID-19 Stimulus

February 4, 2021

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, gave a statement at a full Committee hearing titled, “More than a Shot in the Arm: The Need for Additional COVID-19 Stimulus.”

Chairwoman Waters Gives Floor Statement on FY2021 Joint Budget Resolution on COVID-19 Relief

February 3, 2021

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, gave a floor statement on the urgent need to pass the FY2021 Joint Budget Resolution on COVID-19 relief.

Committee on Small Business

Statement of Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez on State of the Small Business Economy in the Era of COVID-19

February 4, 2021

Nydia M. Velazquez, Chairwoman of the Committee on Small Business, issued a statement on the state of the small business economy in the era of COVID-19.

Federal Agencies

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee of Inspector Generals

PRAC Releases Virtual Stakeholder Listening Forum with Experts from the Banking Industry

February 4, 2021

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s (PRAC’s) Financial Sector Oversight working group released a new video of a forum titled “Pandemic Response: Perspectives from the Banking Industry.” The working group is comprised of Inspectors General (IGs) with oversight responsibilities in the areas of banking, lending and housing – representing the Offices of Inspectors General at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve Board/Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, and the Treasury, as well as the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Response.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

SEC Requests Comment on Potential Money Market Fund Reform Options Highlighted in President’s Working Group Report

February 4, 2021

The Securities and Exchange Commission published a request for public comment on potential reform measures to improve the resilience of money market funds as highlighted in a report of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets issued in December 2020. The report noted that certain short-term funding markets experienced stress in March 2020 amid economic concerns related to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Department of Labor

Labor Department Issues Release on Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims

February 4, 2021

The U.S. Department of Labor issued a release regarding weekly unemployment insurance claims. The release states that, in the week ending January 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 779,000, a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week’s revised level; the previous week’s level was revised down by 35,000 from 847,000 to 812,000; the four-week moving average was 848,250, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week’s revised average; and, the previous week’s average was revised down by 18,500 from 868,000 to 849,500.

State Agencies

New York State Department of Financial Services

Superintendent Lacewell Announces DFS Issues Cybersecurity Insurance Risk Framework

February 4, 2021

Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell announced the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued a new Cyber Insurance Risk Framework. The framework outlines industry best practices for New York-regulated property/casualty insurers that write cyber insurance to effectively manage their cyber insurance risk. The framework is the first guidance by a U.S. regulator on cyber insurance.

Governor Cuomo Announces Findings of New York Investigation of Redlining in Buffalo

February 4, 2021

Following Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s 2021 State of the State proposal to increase homeownership rates in communities that have been adversely impacted by redlining, Mr. Cuomo announced the findings of a new report by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) on redlining in the Buffalo metropolitan area.

International

Bank of England

Monthly Decision Maker Panel Data - January 2021

February 4, 2021

According to the January 2021 Decision Maker Panel survey results, businesses estimated that their sales in 2021 Q1 would be 21% lower than they otherwise would have been because of COVID-19, with employment 8% lower and investment 23% lower. Near-term sales expectations were revised down in January for 2021 Q1 and 2021 Q2, by 6 percentage points and 2 percentage points respectively. The impact of COVID on sales was expected to ease during 2021 from -21% in 2021 Q1 to -11% in 2021 Q2 and -6% in 2021 Q3.