PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update --Thursday, March 18, 2021
March 18, 2021
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Administration Changes
Appointments/Confirmation Hearings
Department of the Treasury – Janet Yellen (effective January 26, 2021)
- Treasury Announces Key Staff Appointment (March 2, 2021)
- Statement from Secretary Yellen on President Biden’s Intention to Nominate Key Roles for Treasury (March 11, 2021)
- Treasury Announces Key Staff Appointments (March 16, 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 (Nominee)
- Acting Chair: Allison Herren Lee (January 21, 2021)
- Confirmation hearing held on March 2, 2021
- Committee approval March 10, 2021
Small Business Administration – Isabel Guzman (effective March 16, 2021)
- Senate Confirms Nomination of Isabel Guzman to be SBA Administrator (March 16, 2021)
- Statement of House Committee on Small Business Chair Nydia M. Velazquez (March 16, 2021)
Commodity Futures Trade Commission
National Credit Union Administration – Todd M. Harper
Department of Housing and Urban Development – Marcia Fudge (effective March 10, 2021)
- Marcia Fudge Sworn in As Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (March 10, 2021)
- Statement by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chair Sherrod Brown (March 10, 2021)
- Statement by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Ranking Member Pat Toomey (March 10, 2021)
- Statement by House Committee on Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (March 10, 2021)
Department of Education – Dr. Miguel Cardona (effective March 2, 2011)
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 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 Introduce Bill to Protect Stimulus Checks from Debt Collectors
March 17, 2021
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), introduced a bill to protect the stimulus checks provided in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan from garnishment by private debt collectors.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Financial Services
Congresswoman Waters at Second Hearing on Ongoing Market Volatility: The Committee Must Assess Legislative Next Steps
March 17, 2021
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, gave the opening statement at a full Committee virtual hearing titled, “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide, Part II.”
Federal Agencies
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasury and IRS Extend Federal Income Tax Filing and Payment Deadline to May 17
March 17, 2021
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021.
Treasury and IRS Disbursed 90 Million Economic Impact Payments from the American Rescue Plan
March 17, 2021
The U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced to date they disbursed approximately 90 million Economic Impact Payments from the American Rescue Plan.
Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen’s Meeting with Governors Andy Beshear and Henry McMaster, Co-Chairs of the National Governors Association’s Bipartisan Economic Recovery and Revitalization Task Force
March 17, 2021
Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) Janet L. Yellen held a meeting with the co-chairs of the National Governors Association’s Economic Recovery and Revitalization Task Force, Governors Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Henry McMaster of South Carolina.
Federal Reserve Board
Federal Reserve Issues FOMC Statement and Releases Economic Projections from the March 16-17, 2021 FOMC Meeting
March 17, 2021
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issued a statement from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and released economic projections made by FOMC participants in conjunction with its March 16-17, 2021 meeting.
- Implementation Note
- News Release on Statement
- Projections
- News Release
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FDIC Issues Q42020 State Profiles
March 17, 2021
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released fourth quarter of 2020 State Profiles. The FDIC State Profiles are a quarterly data sheet summation of economic and banking conditions for all fifty states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
CFTC Acting Chairman Behnam Establishes New Climate Risk Unit
March 17, 2021
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam announced he has established the Climate Risk Unit to support the CFTC’s mission by focusing on the role of derivatives in understanding, pricing, and addressing climate-related risk and transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Board Diversity Data Collection
March 17, 2021
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued an Advisory Bulletin to provide guidance on standards for data collection relating to the diversity of boards of directors (Boards) of each Federal Home Loan Bank (Bank) and the Banks’ Office of Finance. The bulletin outlines the expectations set by the FHFA regarding the content and frequency of data reporting on the demographic makeup of the Boards.
Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac’s Apartment Investment Market Index Remains Positive in Q4 Despite Contractions in Major Metro Areas
March 17, 2021
The Freddie Mac Multifamily Apartment Investment Market Index (AIMI) rose by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2020 after a rebounding (1.9%) in the third quarter of 2020. The marginal growth reflects a quarter where falling mortgage rates offset negative change net operating income and property price growth, both driven in part by the COVID-19 pandemic. On an annual basis, AIMI rose by 3.4% as mortgage rates decreased by 57 basis points.
International
European Banking Authority
EBA Consults on its Draft Guidelines for Institutions and Resolution Authorities on Improving Resolvability
March 17, 2021
The European Banking Authority published a consultation on Guidelines for institutions and resolution authorities on improving resolvability. The Guidelines represent a significant step in complementing the European Union (EU) legal framework in the field of resolution. They aggregate existing international standards, leverage on existing EU best practices and implement them into an EU-wide legal document. The consultation runs until June 17, 2021.
EBA Consults on Changes to its Guidelines on Risk-based AML/CFT supervision
March 17, 2021
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched a public consultation on changes to its Guidelines on Risk-Based Supervision of credit and financial institutions’ compliance with anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism obligations.
UK Financial Conduct Authority
Speech: Why Diversity and Inclusion are Regulatory Issues
March 17, 2021
Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority, gave a speech at the launch of the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter Annual Review titled “Why Diversity and Inclusion are Regulatory Issues.”