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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Wednesday, March 3, 2021

March 03, 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 – Dr. Miguel Cardona

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 Warren and Brown Sent Letter Calling on Regulators to End the Temporary Reduction in Banks’ Capital Requirements

March 2, 2021

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Vice Chair Randal Quarles, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Jelena McWilliams, and Acting Comptroller Blake Paulson, calling on the regulators to end the temporary reduction in banks’ capital requirements and resist pressure for an extension in the deregulation.

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Chairman Cardin and Senator Reed Outline Plan to Get Targeted COVID-19 Relief to Small Businesses and Critical Community Services

March 2, 2021

U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship Chair Ben Cardin (D-MD) and U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) discussed the need for targeted COVID-19 relief for small businesses and states, localities and Tribal nations, and U.S. Territories responsible for essential community services.

Federal Agencies

Federal Reserve Board

Speech- Federal Reserve Governor Brainard on U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy: An Update

March 2, 2021

Governor Lael Brainard, Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, gave a speech at the C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations, titled “U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy: An Update.”

National Credit Union Association

Chairman Harper Appoints Hood to NeighborWorks America Board of Directors

March 2, 2021

National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman Todd M. Harper appointed Board Member Rodney E. Hood as the NCUA’s representative on the Board of Directors of NeighborWorks America, an affordable housing and community development organization.

U.S. Small Business Administration

Report: The Effects Of The COVID-19 Pandemic On Small Businesses

March 2, 2021

The Small Business Administration issued a report titled “The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Small Businesses.” The report examines the effects of COVID-19 on small businesses using the first sets of available economic data. The economic impact of the pandemic varied from place to place, with metropolitan and coastal areas hardest hit. Additionally, some industries suffered more than others, with the largest declines in restaurant and taxi and limousine services. Disproportionate metropolitan impacts contributed to differences across demographic categories, with Black and Asian business owners suffering the most.  

Federal Housing Finance Agency

Prepayment Monitoring Report- Fourth Quarter 2020

March 2, 2021

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released the Prepayment Monitoring Report for the fourth quarter of 2020. FHFA has taken a number of steps to promote the continued consistency of prepayment rates of Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-issued mortgage-backed securities. The quarterly report provides market participants additional transparency into a sample of the data FHFA receives and reviews on a monthly basis.

International

UK Financial Conduct Authority

FCA Launches Pre-Paid Funeral Plans Consultation

March 2, 2021

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a consultation on how it plans to regulate the pre-paid funeral plans sector. The consultation, which closes on April 13, 2021, lays out draft rules showing how the FCA will improve standards in the sector.