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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Thursday, February 25, 2021

February 25, 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. Senate

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Senators Menendez, Brown Introduce Housing Counseling Bill

February 24, 2021

U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (Banking Committee), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Banking Committee, introduced legislation to expand access to housing counseling and assistance services for families struggling to remain in their homes because of the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus Housing Counseling Improvement Act would provide $700 million for NeighborWorks to support housing counseling services to assist homeowners, renters, people experiencing homelessness, and people at risk of homelessness navigate their housing options and rights during the COVID-19 crisis, including protections and resources provided through COVID-19 relief. The bill also requires that no less than 40% of the $700 million fund is targeted to counseling organizations that serve minority and low-income homeowners and renters.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee on Financial Services

Committee Holds Hearing on State of the Economy

February 24, 2021

The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing entitled, “Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy.” Jerome H. Powell, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, was the sole witness at the hearing.

Federal Agencies

Federal Reserve Board

Federal Reserve Board Publishes Paper on Stress Test Information Content

February 24, 2021

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System’s Divisions of Research & Statistics and Monetary Affairs published a paper titled “The Information Content of Stress Test Announcements,” as part of the Finance and Economics Discussion Series.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Clarida Delivers Speech on Economic Outlook, Monetary Policy

February 24, 2021

Richard H. Clarida, Vice Chair of the board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, delivered a speech entitled, “U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy,” at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

Governor Brainard Delivers Lecture on Full Employment as part of Fed’s Dual Mandate

February 24, 2021

Governor Lael Brainard, a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, delivered a lecture entitled, “How Should We Think about Full Employment in the Federal Reserve's Dual Mandate?” to Harvard University’s Ec10, Principles of Economics class.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

FRBNY Publishes Blog Post Summarizing State-of-the-Field Conference

February 24, 2021

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) published a Liberty Street Economics blog post entitled “State-of-the-Field Conference on Cyber Risk to Financial Stability”. In the post, the authors discussed the second annual State-of-the-Field Conference on Cyber Risk to Financial Stability, which was presented by FRBNY and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs over two days in December 2020.

Conference of State Bank Supervisors

CSBS Announces New Executive Leadership Team

February 24, 2021

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors announced its executive leadership team as part of a new organization structure.

Federal Banking Agencies

OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC Publish Rule Implementing Net Stable Funding Ratio

February 24, 2021

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation jointly issued and published a rule implementing the net stable funding ratio (NSFR), which is designed to strengthen the ability of covered companies to withstand disruptions to their regular sources of funding without compromising their liquidity position or contributing to instability in the financial system.

Securities and Exchange Commission

Acting Chair Lee Issues Statement on Review of Climate-Related Disclosure

February 24, 2021

Allison Herren Lee, Acting Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), issued a statement announcing she is directing the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance to enhance its focus on climate-related disclosure in public company filings.

FASB Issues Proposed Taxonomy Implementation Guides for 2021 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy

February 24, 2021

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published two proposed Taxonomy Implementation Guides (Guides) based on the 2021 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy (Taxonomy), which is currently under consideration by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

FinCEN Issues Advisory on Financial Crimes Targeting COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments, and Companion Notice Providing Filing Instructions for Financial Institutions

February 24, 2021

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory to alert financial institutions to fraud and other financial crimes related to Economic Impact Payments (EIPs), authorized by the CARES Act, and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021. The advisory contains descriptions of EIP fraud, associated red flag indicators, and information on reporting suspicious activity. The advisory is part of a series published by FinCEN on COVID-19-related fraud and criminal activity.

Department of Labor

Labor Department Issues Alert Memorandum on Need for Effective Unemployment Insurance Fraud Controls for High Risk Areas

February 24, 2021

The U.S. Department of Labor issued an Alert Memorandum titled “The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Needs to Ensure State Workforce Agencies (SWA) Implement Effective Unemployment Insurance Program Fraud Controls for High Risk Areas.”

International

European Banking Authority

EBA Consults on Draft Technical Standards to Improve Supervisory Cooperation for Investment Firms

February 24, 2021

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched two public consultations on regulatory technical standards and Implementing Technical Standards on cooperation and information exchange between competent authorities involved in prudential supervision of investment firms.

Bank of England

Bank Publishes Professor Haskel’s Annual Report for TSC

February 24, 2021

The Bank of England (Bank) published the report of Professor Jonathan Haskel, an External Member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, to the UK House of Commons’ Treasury Select Committee (TSC), to be submitted for the TSC’s hearing on February 24.

Bank Publishes Deputy Governor Broadbent's Annual Report for TSC

February 24, 2021

The Bank of England (Bank) published the report of Ben Broadbent, the Bank’s Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy, to the UK House of Commons’ Treasury Select Committee.

Bank Publishes Letter on Resolvability Assessment Framework

February 24, 2021

The Bank of England (Bank) published a letter to the CEOs of the eight major UK banks regarding the first Resolvability Assessment Framework (RAF) reporting and disclosure cycle. The RAF sets out what firms must do to be considered resolvable by the Bank, as the UK’s resolution authority.

Bank Releases Minutes of TEG Meeting

February 24, 2021

The Bank of England released Minutes from the Technical Expert Group’s February 12 virtual meeting.