Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Wednesday, December 8, 2021

December 08, 2021

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Major Developments

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Notice: FinCEN Issues Proposed Rule for Beneficial Ownership Reporting to Counter Illicit Finance and Increase Transparency

December 7, 2021

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to implement the beneficial ownership information reporting provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act. The proposed rule is designed to protect the U.S. financial system from illicit use and impede malign actors from abusing legal entities, like shell companies, to conceal proceeds of corrupt and criminal acts. Such abuses undermine U.S. national security, economic fairness, and the integrity of the U.S. financial system.

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. Senate

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Nomination Hearing

December 7, 2021

The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs conducted a hearing on the following nominations:

Ms. Parisa Salehi, to be Inspector General, Export Import Bank; and
Mr. Brian Michael Tomney, to be Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Hearing Page
Chair Brown Statement
Ranking Member Toomey Statement
Export Import Bank Designate Salehi Statement
FHFA Designate Tomney Statement

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee on Financial Services

Report: Congresswomen Waters and Beatty Release Committee Staff Report Highlighting Diversity Shortcomings at Investment Firms

December 7, 2021

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Committee on Financial Services, and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Chair of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, released a Majority Staff Report titled, "Diversity and Inclusion: Holding America's Largest Investment Firms Accountable."

Federal Agencies

U.S. Department of the Treasury

Remarks: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy Ben Harris on Promoting Competition in Labor Markets

December 7, 2021

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy Ben Harris delivered remarks at a public workshop on promoting competition in labor markets.

Remarks

Securities and Exchange Commission

Statement: SEC Staff Statement on LIBOR Transition – Key Considerations for Market Participants

December 7, 2021

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a SEC Staff Statement titled, "LIBOR Transition – Key Considerations for Market Participants" to remind investment professionals of their obligations when recommending LIBOR-linked securities and to remind companies and issuers of asset-backed securities of their disclosure obligations related to the LIBOR transition.

Statement

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

CFPB Issues Final Rule to Facilitate Transition from LIBOR

December 7, 2021

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule facilitating the transition away from the LIBOR interest rate index for consumer financial products. The rule establishes requirements for how creditors must select replacement indices for existing LIBOR-linked consumer loans after April 1, 2022. Under the final rule, no new financial contracts may reference LIBOR as the relevant index after the end of 2021 and starting in June 2023, LIBOR can no longer be used for existing financial contracts.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/Federal Housing Administration

Statement: FHEO's Statement by HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity on Special Purpose Credit Programs as a Remedy for Disparities in Access to Homeownership

December 7, 2021

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a statement titled, "FHEO's Statement by HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity on Special Purpose Credit Programs as a Remedy for Disparities in Access to Homeownership."

International

European Commission

Competition: EU-US Kaunch Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue to Foster Cooperation in Competition Policy and Enforcement in Technology Sector

December 7, 2021

European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, and the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust of the U.S. Department of Justice Jonathan Kanter launched the EU-U.S. Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue.