PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Saturday, April 17, 2021
April 17, 2021
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Administration Changes
Appointments/Confirmation Hearings
Department of the Treasury – Janet Yellen (effective January 26, 2021)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Rohit Chopra (Nominee)
- Acting Director: Dave Uejio (January 20, 2020)
- Confirmation hearing held on March 2, 2021
- Committee approval March 10, 2021
- Toomey Opening Statement During Chopra, Gensler Nomination Hearing (March 2, 2021)
Securities and Exchange Commission – Gary Gensler (Confirmed April 14, 2021)
- Statement by Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee and Commissioners on Confirmation of Gary Gensler (April 14, 2021)
- Statement by FINRA President and CEO Robert W. Cook on Confirmation of Gary Gensler (April 14, 2021)
- Statement by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chair Sherrod Brown on Confirmation of Gary Gensler (April 14, 2021)
- Statement by House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters on Confirmation of Gary Gensler (April 15, 2021)
Small Business Administration – Isabel Guzman (effective March 16, 2021)
Commodity Futures Trade Commission
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
- FinCEN Announces Acting Director and New Deputy Director (April 2, 2021)
- Statement from Treasury Deputy Secretary Adeyemo on Leadership Announcement (April 2, 2021)
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, 2011)
- U.S. Department of Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees (April 9, 2021)
- Statement by Secretary Cardona on President Biden's Nomination of Gwen Graham (April 16, 2021)
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
Chairwoman Waters Applauds the Biden Administration’s New Russia Sanctions
April 16, 2021
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, made a statement regarding the Biden Administration’s announcement of a new package of sanctions against Russian persons and other actions to hold Russia accountable.
Committee on Small Business
House Passes Three Bipartisan Bills to Improve Key SBA Lending Programs
April 16, 2021
The House of Representatives passed a set of three bipartisan bills to make reforms to critical Small Business Administration (SBA) lending programs. The bills would make multiple improvements to the SBA’s 504 and Microloan programs.
- H.R. 1502 – The Microloan Improvement Act of 2021
- H.R. 1487 – Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act
- H.R. 1490 – 504 Modernization and Small Manufacturer Enhancement Act of 2021
- News Release
Federal Agencies
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasury Releases Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States
April 16, 2021
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) delivered to Congress the semiannual Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States. In the report, Treasury reviewed and assessed the policies of 20 major U.S. trading partners during the four quarters through December 2020.
Secretary Yellen and Deputy Secretary Adeyemo’s Meeting with Environmental Organizations on Corporate Tax Reform
April 16, 2021
Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo met with a group of environmental organizations to discuss President Biden’s Made in America tax plan, including how it would leverage the corporate tax system to help address climate change. Attendees at the roundtable discussion included Center for American Progress, Corridor Partners, Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth, League of Conservation Voters, Moms Clean Air Force, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, NextGen America, and Sierra Club.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Business Leaders Survey – April 2021
April 16, 2021
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its April 2021 Business Leaders Survey.
The Netting Efficiencies of Marketwide Central Clearing
April 16, 2021
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a staff report titled “The Netting Efficiencies of Marketwide Central Clearing.”
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Fed’s “Racism and the Economy” Series Examines Racism’s Impact on the Economics Profession
April 16, 2021
Last June, William Spriggs, advisor to the Minneapolis Fed’s Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute, chief economist for the AFL-CIO, and a professor at Howard University, penned a letter to fellow economists imploring the discipline to undertake an accounting of how deeply racism has affected the people and practice of economics.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Reopens Comment Period for Universal Proxy
April 16, 2021
The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to reopen the comment period on the proposed rules for the use of universal proxy cards in all non-exempt solicitations for contested director elections. The reopened comment period permits interested parties to submit further comments and data on the rule amendments proposed in 2016 as well as additional comments on the questions raised in the reopening release. It further allows interested parties to comment on developments since 2016 when the proposing release was issued, including the potential economic and other effects of the proposal in light of any such developments.
SEC Staff Statement on Fully Paid Lending
April 16, 2021
The Securities and Exchange Commission staff issued a statement in relation to certain fully-paid lending programs operated by some broker-dealers.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
CFPB Updates Debt Collection Small Entity Compliance Guide
April 16, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau updated the Debt Collection Small Entity Compliance Guide.
National Credit Union Association
NCUA Board Renews Prompt Corrective Action Relief
April 16, 2021
The National Credit Union Administration Board approved, by notation vote, an interim final rule that temporarily modifies certain regulatory requirements to help ensure federally insured credit unions remain operational and able to provide needed financial services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration
HUD Awards $1.5 Million to Improve the Main Street in Three Communities
April 16, 2021
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $1.5 million to help build affordable housing in Colorado, California, and Oregon. Kit Carson, Colorado will receive a $500,000 grant to redevelop two sites, the City of El Cerrito, California will receive a $500,000 grant to build affordable, residential units in the city's commercial district, and the City of Stayton, Oregon will receive a $500,000 grant to rehabilitate two buildings. The grants are funded through HUD's HOPE VI Main Street Program.
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Foreclosure Prevention, Refinance and FPM Report - January 2021
April 16, 2021
The Federal Housing Finance Agency released its January 2021 report titled “Foreclosure Prevention, Refinance and FPM Report.”
International
Bank of England
Interactions of Capital and Liquidity Requirements: A Review of the Literature
April 16, 2021
The Bank of England released a staff working paper titled “Interactions of Capital and Liquidity Requirements: A Review of the Literature.”