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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Saturday, February 20, 2021

February 20, 2021

By Paul Hastings Professional

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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.

Federal Agencies

Federal Reserve Board

Monetary Policy Report

February 19, 2021

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issued its Monetary Policy Report for February 2021. According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh heavily on economic activity and labor markets in the U.S. and around the world. Although fiscal stimulus and monetary policy supported a rapid rebound in the U.S. labor market last summer, the pace of gains has slowed and employment remains well below pre-pandemic levels.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Speech: Perspectives on the Eventual Economic Recovery

February 19, 2021

Eric S. Rosengren, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, gave a speech at the Yale Economic Development Symposium titled “Perspectives on the Eventual Economic Recovery.”

Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council

Revisions to the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) Related to Asset Threshold Relief

February 19, 2021

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, of which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are members, published final regulatory reporting changes—related to asset threshold relief—to the Call Report. The changes are subject to approval by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

February 19, 2021

The Office of Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released its annual assessment of the top management and performance challenges facing the FDIC. The report summarizes the most serious challenges facing the FDIC and assesses its progress to address them.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

CFPB FinEx Webinar: Unpacking the Black Wealth Gap: Lessons in Understanding for Financial Practitioners

February 19, 2021

Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 2:00-3:30 pm ET

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is hosting a webinar on February 23, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern titled “Unpacking the Black Wealth Gap: Lessons in Understanding for Financial Practitioners.” In the workshop, participants will hear about economic challenges, including credit discrimination, that Black Americans encounter. Over time, these challenges have led to today’s Black wealth gap.

U.S. Small Business Administration

SBA to Host Black History Month Live Online Panel February 25, 2021

February 18, 2021

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will host a live online panel session in celebration of Black History Month for a discussion on economic recovery with Black-owned small business owners from a variety of sectors that have used SBA resources to pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

US Department of Labor announces OSHA Will Investigate Complaints of Whistleblower Retaliation under New Antitrust and Money Laundering Laws

February 19, 2021

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration is now overseeing worker retaliation complaints filed under two new whistleblower statutes – the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

International

Bank of England

Revisiting the New Keynesian policy paradoxes under QE

February 19, 2021

The Bank of England released a staff working paper titled “Revisiting the New Keynesian Policy Paradoxes under QE.” According to the paper, standard New Keynesian models deliver puzzling results at the effective lower bound of short-term interest rates: greater price flexibility amplifies the fall in output in response to adverse demand shocks; labor tax cuts are contractionary; and the multipliers of wasteful government spending are large. Both analytically and numerically, the authors show that allowing the central bank to respond to inflation with quantitative easing can resolve these paradoxes.

Speech: An Update on the Economic Outlook

February 19, 2021

Gertjan Vlieghe, External Member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England, gave a speech titled “An Update on the Economic Outlook.” Mr. Vlieghe looks at recent developments in the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses how such developments affect the outlook for the economy and monetary policy. He considers how people have adapted to lockdown, the role of vaccines, and how new COVID variants might impact the economic recovery.