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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Thursday, June 17, 2021

June 17, 2021

FedACTion Task Force

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Click here to read more from our Coronavirus series.

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 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.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee on Financial Services

Waters Announces Formation of Digital Assets Working Group

June 16, 2021

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, announced at the first hearing held by the Task Force on Financial Technology that she has organized a Digital Assets Working Group of Democratic Members.

National Security Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Schemes and Subversion

June 16, 2021

The House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary policy held a virtual hearing on the evasion of sanctions regimes by bad actors and foreign governments.

Housing Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Flexible Federal Funding

June 16, 2021

The House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance held a virtual hearing on the community development block grant program and its impact on addressing local challenges.

Federal Agencies

Department of the Treasury

Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen Testifies before the Senate Committee on Finance

June 16, 2021

Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen testified before the Senate Committee on Finance. Secretary Yellen discussed a how the Biden Administration’s budget would address certain long-term structural economic challenges.

Federal Reserve Board

Federal Reserve Announces the Extension of its Temporary U.S. Dollar Liquidity Swap Lines with Nine Central Banks through December 31, 2021

June 16, 2021

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System announced the extension of its temporary U.S. dollar liquidity swap lines with nine central banks through December 31, 2021. These arrangements were first announced on March 19, 2020 to ease strains in global dollar funding markets resulting from the COVID-19 shock and to mitigate the effect of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses, both domestically and abroad. Extensions to the facility through March 2021 and later through September 2021 were announced on July 29, 2020 and December 16, 2020, respectively.

Federal Reserve Board and Federal Open Market Committee Release Economic Projections from the June 15-16 FOMC Meeting

June 16, 2021

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) released economic projections from the FOMC’s June-15-16 meeting. Participants provided projections of the most likely outcomes for real gross domestic product grow, the unemployment rate, and inflation for each year from 2021 to 2023 and over the longer run.

Federal Reserve Issues FOMC statement

June 16, 2021

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) Federal Open Market Committee released a statement regarding its monetary policy stance. The Board has voted unanimously to set the interest rate paid on required and excess reserve balances at 0.15 percent, effective June 17, 2021.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

New York Fed Issues Business Leaders Survey

June 16, 2021

Business activity grew at its fastest pace on record in the region’s service sector, according to firms responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s June 2021 Business Leaders Survey. The survey’s headline business activity index increased four points to 43.2. The business climate index rose ten points to 1.0, indicating that for the first time since the pandemic began, firms generally viewed the business climate as about normal for this time of year. Employment levels rose at a solid clip, and wages continued to increase. Both input and selling price increases picked up further. Capital spending held steady, and firms expect to increase capital spending significantly over the next six months. Looking ahead, firms expressed widespread optimism that conditions would improve, with the future business activity and future employment indexes just slightly below last month’s record highs.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDITECH Launches Tech Sprint to Reach More Unbanked People

June 16, 2021

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that the FDIC will be holding a ‘tech sprint’ designed to explore new technologies and techniques that would help expand the capabilities of banks to meet the needs of unbanked individuals and households.

Securities and Exchange Commission

SEC, NASAA, and FINRA Offer Free Resource to Securities Firms to Assist in Detection, Prevention and Reporting of Financial Exploitation of Seniors

June 15, 20201

In recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the North American Securities Administrators Association, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced a new resource intended to assist securities firms in implementing the training requirements of the Senior Safe Act.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Interpretive Rule on Authority to Resume Examinations Regarding the Military Lending Act

June 16, 2021

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an interpretive rule that explains the basis for its authority to examine supervised financial institutions for risks to active duty service members and their dependents (i.e., military borrowers) from conduct that violates the Military Lending Act.

CFPB Blog Finds Delinquencies on Credit Accounts Continue to be Low Despite the Pandemic

June 16, 2021

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its first article in a series documenting trends in consumer credit outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last August, the CFPB published a report on early trends in consumer credit outcomes through June 2020, which found largely positive trends in those outcomes despite widespread economic hardship due to the pandemic.

Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae Research Group Finds Inflation Risk Takes Center Stage as Strong Economic Growth Expected to Moderate

June 16, 2021

Economic growth expectations for full-year 2021 were revised modestly upward to 7.1 percent, one-tenth higher than the previous forecast, due to stronger-than-expected consumer spending data year to date, according to the June 2021 commentary from the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group.

Department of Education

Department of Education Announces Approval of New Categories of Borrower Defense Claims Totaling $500 Million in Loan Relief to 18,000 Borrowers

June 16, 2021

The U.S. Department of Education announced the approval of 18,000 borrower defense to repayment (borrower defense) claims for individuals who attended ITT Technical Institute. These borrowers will receive 100 percent loan discharges, resulting in approximately $500 million in relief. This brings total loan cancellation under borrower defense to approximately $1.5 billion for approximately 90,000 borrowers.

U.S. Department of Education Confirms Title IX Protects Students from Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

June 16, 2021

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued a Notice of Interpretation explaining that it will enforce Title IX's prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex to include: (1) discrimination based on sexual orientation; and (2) discrimination based on gender identity. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity offered by a recipient of federal financial assistance.

International

European Commission

Commission Publishes Questions and answers on the Recovery and Resilience Facility

June 16, 2021

The European Commission published questions and answers on the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Member States prepare recovery and resilience plans that set out a coherent package of reforms and investment initiatives to be implemented up to 2026 and supported by the RRF.

Bank of England

The FCA and the Bank of England Encourage Market Participants in a Switch to SOFR in US Dollar Interest Rate Swap Markets from July 26, 2021

June 16, 2021

The Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England are encouraging liquidity providers in the US dollar linear interest rate swaps market to adopt new trading conventions for interdealer trading based on SOFR instead of LIBOR from July 26 this year.

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 (effective April 17, 2021)

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

Commodity Futures Trade Commission

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

National Credit Union Administration - Todd M. Harper

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

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