PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Tuesday, December 16, 2025
December 16, 2025
Edited by Lawrence D. Kaplan, Jason Shafer and Kris Knabe
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Federal Agencies
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasury Issues Annual Consumer Advisory on Holiday Scams
December 15, 2025
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection released its annual holiday advisory to help consumers protect themselves from the surge in cyber-enabled scams and online fraud.
Treasury, IRS Release Final Rules Supporting Tribal Businesses and Families
December 15, 2025
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced two final pro-growth and deregulatory tax regulations that support the prosperity of Tribal businesses and families and recognize the sovereignty of Tribal governments.
- Press Release
- Tribal General Welfare Benefits Final Rule
- Entities Wholly Owned by Indian Tribal Governments Final Rule
Statement on the EU-US Joint Financial Regulatory Forum
December 15, 2025
The EU-U.S. Joint Financial Regulatory Forum took place on Dec. 9-10, with participants exchanging views on topics of mutual interest as part of their regular financial regulatory dialogue.
Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Agencies Announce Dollar Thresholds for Truth in Lending and Consumer Leasing Rules
December 15, 2025
The Federal Reserve Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the dollar thresholds used to determine whether certain consumer credit and lease transactions in 2026 are subject to certain protections under Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) and Regulation M (Consumer Leasing).
Federal Reserve Board
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Agencies Announce 2026 Threshold for Higher-Priced Mortgage Loans
December 15, 2025
The CFPB, Federal Reserve Board and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that the 2026 threshold for higher-priced mortgage loans that are subject to special appraisal requirements will increase from $33,500 to $34,200.
Federal Reserve Board
Speech: ‘The Inflation Outlook’
December 15, 2025
Federal Reserve Board Governor Stephen I. Miran gave a speech titled “The Inflation Outlook” at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York.
Federal Reserve Board Publishes Several Working Papers
December 15, 2025
The Federal Reserve Board published the following working papers:
- LLM on a Budget: Active Knowledge Distillation for Efficient Classification of Large Text Corpora*
- Rates of return on private and public businesses
- Funds of Funds' Portfolio Rebalancing during the COVID-19 Crisis
- A Robust Risk Framework for Offline Payments
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
NY Fed President Delivers Speech on Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy
December 15, 2025
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President and CEO John C. Williams gave a speech on the economic outlook and monetary policy at the New Jersey Bankers Association.
SCE Labor Market Survey — November 2025
December 15, 2025
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released the SCE Labor Market Survey for November 2025.
Empire State Manufacturing Survey — December 2025
December 15, 2025
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released the results of the Empire State Manufacturing Survey for December 2025.
Blog: ‘Designing Bank Regulation with Accounting Discretion’
December 15, 2025
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published a Liberty Street Economics blog post titled “Designing Bank Regulation with Accounting Discretion.”
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
National Rates and Rate Caps — December 2025
December 15, 2025
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation released the national rates and rate caps for December 2025.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
OCC Reports Mortgage Performance for Q3 2025
December 15, 2025
The OCC reported on the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the third quarter of 2025.
Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Crypto Task Force Holds Roundtable on Financial Surveillance and Privacy
December 15, 2025
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force held a roundtable on financial surveillance and privacy.
International
European Banking Authority
EBA-ECB Publish Joint Report on Payment Fraud
December 15, 2025
The European Banking Authority and the European Central Bank published the 2025 edition of their joint report on payment fraud, which found that strong authentication remains effective but fraudsters are adapting.
ESAs Publish Tips to Protect Consumers From Online Frauds and Scams
December 15, 2025
The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA — ESAs) published two factsheets designed to help consumers protect themselves from crypto and other online frauds and scams and explain how fraudsters increasingly use artificial intelligence (AI) to deceive consumers.
Financial Conduct Authority
FCA Sets Out Plans to Help Build Mortgage Market of the Future
December 15, 2025
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set out plans for reforms to the mortgage market.
Blog: ‘Using our full toolkit to help consumers’
December 15, 2025
The FCA published a blog post titled “Using our full toolkit to help consumers.”
Administration Changes
Vacancies
Appointments
U.S. Department of the Treasury – Scott Bessent (effective January 27, 2025)
Federal Reserve Board – Jerome H. Powell (effective May 23, 2022)
- Vice Chair Phillip N. Jefferson (sworn in September 13, 2023)
- Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman (sworn in June 9, 2025)
- Governor Michael Barr (sworn in July 19, 2022)
- Governor Christopher J. Waller (sworn in December 18, 2020)
- Governor Lisa D. Cook (sworn in September 13, 2022 – SCOTUS hearing on purported termination to be held in January 2026)
- Stephen Miran (sworn in September 16, 2025)
Federal Reserve Bank of New York – John C. Williams (effective June 18, 2018)
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston – Susan M. Collins (effective July 1, 2022)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Travis Hill (Acting Chairman effective January 20, 2025, nominated to be Chair September 30, 2025)
- Vice Chairman Vacant
- Director Vacant
- Director Jonathan Gould (Comptroller of the Currency)
- Director Russel Vought (Director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency – Jonathan Gould (effective July 15, 2025)
Securities and Exchange Commission – Paul Atkins (effective April 9, 2025)
Commodity Futures Trading Commission – Caroline D. Pham (Acting Chairman effective January 20, 2025)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Russel Vought (Acting Director effective February 10, 2025)
National Credit Union Administration – Kyle Hauptman (Chairman effective January 20, 2025)
Small Business Administration – Kelly Loeffler (effective February 19, 2025)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Scott Turner (effective February 5, 2025)
Federal Housing Finance Agency – William Pulte (effective March 13, 2025)
U.S. Department of Education – Linda McMahon (effective March 3, 2025)
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network – Andrea Gacki (effective July 13, 2023)
PH Client Alerts
Click here to read more from our Coronavirus series.
Legislation/Legislative Updates
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 theConsolidated 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
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