PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Friday, November 20, 2020
November 20, 2020
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Department of the Treasury / Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Treasury Announces Wind Down of Programs Launched under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act
November 19, 2020
Steven T. Mnuchin, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), sent a letter to Jerome H. Powell, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Federal Reserve), notifying the Federal Reserve that CARES Act programs requiring Treasury funds, including the Main Street Lending Program, Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility, Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility, Municipal Liquidity Facility and the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, would expire on December 31, 2020 and not be extended, notwithstanding current economic conditions. In that connection, Treasury requested that the Federal Reserve return all unspent funds to it, subject to Congress re-appropriating the approximately $455 in such undeployed funds. At the same time the Treasury did approve a 90-day extension of the Commercial Paper Funding Facility, the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, the Money Market Liquidity Facility and the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility.
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 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
Subcommittee Holds Virtual Hearing on COVID-19 Insurance Issues
November 19, 2020
The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance held a virtual hearing entitled “Insuring against a Pandemic: Challenges and Solutions for Policyholders and Insurers.”
Federal Agencies
Fed Board Governor Bowman Delivers Speech on Mortgage Markets and Financial Stability
November 19, 2020
Michelle W. Bowman, a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, deliver via webcast a speech entitled “The Changing Structure of Mortgage Markets and Financial Stability,” at the “Financial Stability: Stress, Contagion, and Transmission” 2020 Financial Stability Conference, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Office of Financial Research.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
FRBNY Releases Report on Credit Access and Debt Payment for Low-Income Americans
November 19, 2020
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report (Report), titled “State of Low-Income America: Credit Access & Debt Payment,” on COVID-19’s effects on low-income Americans’ ability to access credit and pay down debt. Key takeaways from the Report include that: (i) borrowers in low-income communities generally have fewer credit products – mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and student loans – than higher income communities; (ii) higher delinquency rates in low- to moderate-income areas suggest that, before COVID-19-related credit moratoria were enacted, borrowers were more likely to struggle to keep current on their debt payments; and, (iii) renters may not be as well-positioned as low-income homeowners to withstand income shocks.
Department of Labor
Labor Department Issues News Release on Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims
November 19, 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a News Release regarding weekly unemployment insurance claims. The News Release states that, for the week ending November 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 742,000, an increase of 31,000 from the previous week’s revised level; the previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 709,000 to 711,000; the four-week moving average was 742,000, a decrease of 13,750 from the previous week’s revised average; and, the previous week’s average was revised up by 500 from 755,250 to 755,750.
International
UK Financial Conduct Authority
FCA Confirms Support for Consumer Credit Customers Impacted by COVID-19
November 19, 2020
The UK Financial Conduct Authority issued updated guidance to firms, setting out enhanced support that firms should make available to consumer credit customers experiencing payment difficulties as a result of COVID-19.