PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Thursday, March 4, 2021
March 04, 2021
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Administration Changes
Appointments/Confirmation Hearings
Department of the Treasury – Janet Yellen (effective January 26, 2021)
- Treasury Announces Confirmation of Secretary Janet Yellen (January 26, 2021)
- Statement of House Committee on Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters on Confirmation of Janet Yellen (January 26, 2021)
- Treasury Announces the Appointment of Members of Senior Staff (January 20, 2021)
- Treasury Announces Appointment of Several Members of Staff (February 3, 2021)
- Treasury Announces Key Staff Appointment (March 2, 2021)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Rohit Chopra (Nominee)
- Acting Director: Dave Uejio (January 20, 2020)
- Confirmation hearing held March 2, 2021
- Readout of Incoming Chair Brown’s Meeting with Rohit Chopra (February 3, 2021)
- Brown Opening Statement at Nomination Hearing for SEC Chair and CFPB Director (March 2, 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 March 2, 2021
- Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee Announces Executive Staff (February 1, 2021)
- Kelly L. Gibson Named Acting Deputy Director of Division of Enforcement (February 5, 2021)
- Readout of Chairman Brown’s Meeting with Gary Gensler Nominee to be Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (February 26, 2021)
Small Business Administration – Isabel Guzman (Nominee)
- Small Business Committee Votes to Advance SBA Administrator Nominee Isabel Guzman (February 24, 2021)
- Acting Administrator: Tami Perriello (January 20, 2021)
- Confirmation hearing to be scheduled (additional details to follow)
Commodity Futures Trade Commission
National Credit Union Administration – Todd M. Harper
Department of Housing and Urban Development – Marcia Fudge (Nominee)
- Acting Secretary: Matthew E. Ammon
- HUD Announces New Leadership Appointees (January 26, 2021)
- Statement by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chairman Sherrod Brown (February 4, 2021)
- HUD Announces More Key Staff (February 16, 2021)
Department of Education – Dr. Miguel Cardona
- Education Announces Senior Appointees (January 21, 2021)
- Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees (February 3, 2021)
- Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees (February 25, 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 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
Congresswoman Waters Announces Updates to March Hearing Schedule
March 3, 2021
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, announced updates to the hearing schedule for March 2021.
Federal Agencies
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
PRAC Releases Virtual Stakeholder Listening Forum with Experts on Housing
March 3, 2021
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Financial Sector Oversight working group released a new video of a stakeholder listening forum entitled, “Pandemic Response: Perspectives on Housing.”
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
New York Fed Names Naureen Hassan First Vice President
March 3, 2021
The Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has appointed Naureen Hassan First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective March 15, 2021. The appointment was approved by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Conference of State Bank Supervisors
Networked Supervision: An Opportunity for Regulatory Change
March 3, 2021
The Conference of Bank Supervisor released a blog post titled “Networked Supervision: An Opportunity for Regulatory Change.”
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FDIC Releases Strategic Plan to Reinforce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the Agency and Among the Financial Institutions It Supervises
March 3, 2021
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation released its latest strategic plan to incorporate and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in every aspect of its mission and operations.
Consumer Compliance Examination Manual
March 2, 2021
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released the latest version of the Consumer Compliance Examination Manual, a primary resource and reference tool for FDIC compliance examination staff to use in support of conducting Consumer Compliance and Community Reinvestment Act examinations and other supervisory activities.
Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Division of Examinations Announces 2021 Examination Priorities
March 3, 2021
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations (Division) announced its 2021 examination priorities, including a greater focus on climate-related risks. The Division will also focus on conflicts of interest for brokers (Regulation Best Interest) and investment advisers (fiduciary duty), and attendant risks relating to Fintech in its initiatives and examinations.
U.S. Small Business Administration
The PPP Webinar Series
March 3, 2021
The U.S. Small Business Administration has some key changes to the Paycheck Protection Program which will be available for a limited amount of time to ensure America’s smallest businesses get exclusive access. There is new information for small business owners with fewer than 20 employees and self-employed individuals.
International
European Commission
Commission Presents Updated Approach to Fiscal Policy Response to Coronavirus Pandemic
March 3, 2021
The European Commission (EC) has adopted a communication providing Member States with broad guidance on the conduct of fiscal policy in the period ahead.
- News Release
- Questions and Answers
- Communication
- Remarks by Commissioner Gentiloni
- Remarks by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis
European Banking Authority
The EBA Highlights Key Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks across the EU
March 3, 2021
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its biennial opinion on risks of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) affecting the European Union’s financial sector. The ML/TF risks identified by the EBA include those that are applicable to the entire financial system, for example the use of innovative financial services, while others affect specific sectors, such as de-risking. The list also includes ML/TF risks that emerge from wider developments such as the COVID-19 pandemic that has an impact on both firms’ anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism compliance and competent authorities’ supervision.
UK Financial Conduct Authority
Final Guidance: Business Interruption Insurance Test Case - Proving the Presence of COVID-19
March 3, 2021
The Financial Conduct Authority released final guidance, which sets out the types of evidence, and methodologies which insurance policyholders may wish to use when proving the presence of COVID-19 in a particular area around their premises.
FCA Confirms the Increase in Thresholds for Contactless Payments
March 3, 2021
The Financial Conduct Authority confirmed changes to its rules to allow for an increase in the single transaction contactless payment threshold from £45 to £100. The contactless threshold for multiple transactions will also increase from £130 to £300.