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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Thursday, February 18, 2021

February 18, 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

Full Committee Hearing on Recent Market Volatility to be Held on February 18, 2021

February 17, 2021

The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing titled, “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide,” on February 18, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern.

Federal Agencies

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

PRAC Releases Virtual Stakeholder Listening Forum with Experts Representing Borrowers and Small Business

February 17, 2021

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s Financial Sector Oversight working group released a new video of a stakeholder listening forum entitled, “Pandemic Response: Perspectives from Borrowers.” The panel discussion covered topics such as: (i) the experience of small businesses, particularly minority-owned businesses, with the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans; (ii) lack of data collection on program recipients; (iii) recommendations to improve communication between government agencies administering programs and their participants to better reach diverse audiences; and (iv) fraud, waste and abuse in pandemic response programs. 

Federal Reserve Board

Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee for January 26-27, 2021

February 17, 2021

The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee released the minutes of the FOMC meeting held on January 26 and 27, 2021.

Federal Reserve Board Paper: Is Lending Distance Really Changing? Distance Dynamics and Loan Composition in Small Business Lending

February 17, 2021

The Federal Reserve Board’s Divisions of Research & Statistics and Monetary Affairs released a paper titled “Is Lending Distance Really Changing? Distance Dynamics and Loan Composition in Small Business Lending.”

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Total Household Debt Increased in Q4 2020 and Newly Originated Mortgages Reach Record High

February 17, 2021

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data issued its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The report shows that total household debt increased by $206 billion (1.4%) to $14.56 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2020, driven in part by a steep increase in mortgage originations. The total debt balance is now $414 billion higher than the year prior.

Report: Credit Access and Mobility during the Flint Water Crisis

February 17, 2021

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York prepared a report on credit access and household mobility of the residents of Flint, Michigan who were exposed to lead-contaminated water. In the paper, the authors use the spatial distribution of lead and galvanized pipes in Flint to study the effect of the crisis on households financial health -- including loan balances, repayment of outstanding debt, and Equifax risk scores -- as well as on household mobility.

February Regional Business Surveys Find Widespread Supply Disruptions

February 17, 2021

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s (New York Fed) Liberty Street Economics blog issued a post titled “February Regional Business Surveys Find Widespread Supply Disruptions.” According to the New York Fed’s February regional business surveys, business activity increased in the region’s manufacturing sector in recent weeks but continued to decline in the region’s service sector.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Boston Fed Announces New Members of Two Advisory Councils

February 17, 2021

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced three new members of its Community Development Advisory Council and two new members of its Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDIC Announces Personnel Changes

February 17, 2021

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the appointments of Arleas Upton Kea as Deputy to the Chairman for External Affairs and Nikita Pearson as Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. As members of Chairman Jelena McWilliams’s senior leadership team, Ms. Kea and Ms. Pearson will spearhead the FDIC’s efforts to expand stakeholder engagement and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the FDIC and across the financial sector.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

OCC Promotes Two to Deputy Comptroller for Large Bank Supervision

February 17, 2021

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced the promotions of Tanya Smith and Michael (Tim) McDonald to Deputy Comptroller for Large Bank Supervision. Both individuals will assume their new duties in spring of 2021.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam Names Alicia L. Lewis Special Counsel

February 17, 2021

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam announced that Alicia L. Lewis has rejoined his office and will serve as his Special Counsel. Ms. Lewis has served at the CFTC since 2009.

National Credit Union Association

Registration Now Open for Webinar on Earned Income Tax Credit and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Programs

February 17, 2021

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that they are co-hosting a webinar on the Earned Income Tax Credit and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs on February 23, 2021 at 2 p.m. Eastern. Representatives of the NCUA’s Office on Consumer Financial Protection, along with NCUA Board Member Rodney E. Hood and senior IRS officials, will participate in the webinar. The NCUA and the IRS encourage credit unions, their members, and others to participate in the webinar to learn more about these tax programs.

State Agencies

New York State Department of Financial Services

DFS Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell Announces Ten Appointments to New York State Insurance Advisory Board

February 17, 2021

Superintendent of Financial Services Linda A. Lacewell announced that the New York State Department of Financial Services appointed ten members to serve a three-year term on the New York State Insurance Advisory Board (Board). Members of the Board include representatives of the insurance industry and consumer advocates, as required by statute.    

International

Bank of England

Speech: QE as an Economic Policy Tool - What Does it Do and How Should We Use It?

February 17, 2021

Dave Ramsden, Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking at the Bank of England, gave a speech titled “QE as an Economic Policy Tool – What Does it Do and How Should We Use It?” His speech focuses on quantitative easing and its use as an economic policy tool.