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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update --Thursday, January 20, 2022

January 20, 2022

FedACTion Task Force

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Congress

U.S. Senate

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Senate Banking and Housing Committee Votes on Biden Administration Nominees

January 19, 2022

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, approved several Biden Administration nominees for financial services positions:

  • Arun Venkataraman, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service;
  • Reta Jo Lewis, to be President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States;
  • Judith DelZoppo Pryor, to be First Vice President of the Export-Import Bank;
  • Owen Edward Herrnstadt, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank;
  • Parisa Salehi, to be Inspector General, Export Import Bank;
  • David Uejio, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
  • Elizabeth de Leon Bhargava, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
  • Julia Ruth Gordon, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
  • Solomon Jeffrey Greene, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
  • James Arthur Jemison, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
  • Todd M. Harper, to be a Member of the National Credit Union Administration Board; and
  • Brian Michael Tomney, to be Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
  • Press Release

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee on Financial Services

Subcommittee Virtual Hearing on Housing America: Addressing Challenges in Serving People Experiencing Homelessness

January 19, 2022

On January 20, the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance will convene for a virtual hearing entitled, "Housing America: Addressing Challenges in Serving People Experiencing Homelessness."

Letter: Waters and Warner Urge the Federal Reserve to Provide Guidance to Maximize Impact of Investments to Support Diverse and Mission-Driven Community Financial Institutions

January 18, 2022

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to urge the Federal Reserve to provide guidance as soon as possible to Subchapter S and Mutual bank Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) recipients on concerns they raised. Chairwoman Waters led the effort in Congress to provide $12 billion in funding to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), which includes $9 billion in critical capital through the ECIP to bolster the lending capacity of CDFIs and MDIs in underserved and minority communities.

Ensuring Equitable Delivery of Disaster Benefits to Vulnerable Communities and Peoples: An Examination of GAO's Findings of the CDBG Program

January 18, 2022

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing titled, "Ensuring Equitable Delivery of Disaster Benefits to Vulnerable Communities and Peoples: An Examination of GAO's Findings of the CDBG-DR Program."

Committee on Small Business

Committee Examines Pandemic Impact and Policies to Drive Recovery During Hearing on Creative Economy

January 19, 2022

The House Small Business Committee held a hearing surveying the current state of the creative economy and its overall impact on the American economy. The hearing gathered artists and creative workers to testify on the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their industry and ways that Congress can better support them.

Federal Agencies

U.S. Department of the Treasury

Remarks: Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen at the 90th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors

January 19, 2022

Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen gave prepared remarks at the 90th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Report: Business Leaders Survey

January 19, 2022

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published its January 2022 Business Leaders Survey. Business activity in the region's service sector grew at a slower pace than in recent months. The survey's headline business activity index fell five points to 9.2. The business climate index fell twelve points to -27.9, indicating that firms generally viewed the business climate as worse than normal for this time of year. Employment growth slowed to a modest pace, and wages continued to rise at a solid clip. Both the prices paid and prices received indexes edged slightly lower but remained near record highs. Looking ahead, most firms expect conditions to improve over the next six months.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Notice: Civil Money Penalties: Notice Adjusting Maximum Civil Money Penalties for 2022

January 19, 2022

On January 12, 2022, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published in the Federal Register a notice to adjust the maximum amount of each civil money penalty (CMP) within its jurisdiction pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Adjustment Act). The adjusted maximum penalties are effective as of January 12, 2022, for violations occurring on or after November 2, 2015.

Securities and Exchange Commission

Statement: "Dynamic Regulation for a Dynamic Society" Before the Exchequer Club of Washington, D.C.

January 19, 2022

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler gave prepared remarks titled, "Dynamic Regulation for a Dynamic Society," before the Exchequer Club of Washington, D.C.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

CFPB Releases Report on Diversity and Inclusion within Financial Services

January 19, 2022

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Office of Minority Women and Inclusion (OMWI) released the CFPB Report on Diversity and Inclusion within Financial Services. As part of the mandate of Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Bureau's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) is charged with developing standards for assessing diversity and inclusion at the financial entities the Bureau regulates. To further that effort, CFPB engaged in analysis of public data to gain a better understanding of diversity and inclusion within the financial services sector and compiled a report to share its findings. The Report can help industry understand more about diversity and inclusion initiatives that their peers are undertaking and the various options available to entities of different sizes.

Blog Post: Americans Pay $120 Billion in Credit Card Interest and Fees Each Year

January 19, 2022

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a blog post titled, "Americans pay $120 Billion in Credit Card Interest and Fees Each Year."

Fannie Mae

The Economy and Housing to Turn Toward 'New Normal' in 2022

January 19, 2022

The housing market and larger economy are expected to enter a "new normal" in 2022 as the unprecedented market disturbances and policy responses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic subside, according to the January 2022 commentary from the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research Group.

U.S. Department of Labor

US Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Unveil 'HIRE' Initiative to Advance Equal Opportunity at Work

January 19, 2022

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched the Hiring Initiative to Reimagine Equity with a roundtable discussion reflecting on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

International

European Commission

EU Cohesion Policy: Almost €385.5 Million from the EU Solidarity Fund to 19 Countries to Tackle the COVID-19 Health Emergency

January 19, 2022

The European Commission completed the payments of the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) assistance to tackle the coronavirus health emergency to 19 countries for a total amount of almost €385.5 million. This comes in addition to €132.7 million paid in 2020 to the Member States that requested a EUSF advance payment. 17 Member States and 3 candidate countries had requested the EUSF support: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania and Spain; Albania, Montenegro and Serbia.

UK Financial Conduct Authority

FCA to Strengthen Financial Promotions Rules to Protect Consumers

January 19, 2022

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is acting to address concerns about the ease and speed with which people can make high-risk investments by proposing a significant strengthening of its rules on how high-risk financial products are marketed. This is a central element of the FCA's Consumer Investments Strategy, published in September 2021, which aims to give consumers the confidence to invest and reduce the number of people who are investing in high-risk products that are not aligned to their needs.

Administration Changes

Vacancies

Federal Reserve Board

  • Vice Chair for Supervision – Sarah Bloom Raskin nominated January 14, 2022
  • Governor – Lisa Cook nominated January 14, 2022
  • Governor – Phillip Jefferson, nominated January 14, 2022

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

  • Chair – Martin Gruenberg will become Acting Chair as of February 1, 2022
  • Vice Chairman

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

  • Comptroller – Vacant (Michael Hsu serves as Acting Comptroller)

Commodity Futures Commission

  • Three (3) Commissioner Vacancies

Appointments/Confirmation Hearings

U.S. Department of the Treasury - Janet Yellen (effective January 26, 2021)

Federal Reserve Board

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - Rohit Chopra (effective October 12, 2021)

Securities and Exchange Commission - Gary Gensler (effective April 17, 2021)

Small Business Administration - Isabella Casillas Guzman (effective March 16, 2021)

Commodity Futures Trade Commission – Rostin Behnam (effective December 17, 2021)

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

National Credit Union Administration - Todd M. Harper

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Marcia Fudge (effective March 10, 2021)

Federal Housing Finance Agency – Sandra L. Thompson

U.S. Department of Education - Dr. Miguel Cardona (effective March 2, 2021)

PH Client Alerts

Click here to read more from our Coronavirus series.

Legislation/Legislative Updates

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 the full text of the American Rescue Plan of 2021, Enacted March 11, 2021.

Click here to view the full text of the PPP Extension Act of 2021, Enacted March 30, 2021.

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.

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Practice Areas

Global Finance

Financial Services

Fintech and Payments