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PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates

Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Friday, May 28, 2021

May 28, 2021

FedACTion Task Force

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PH Client Alerts

Click here to read more from our Coronavirus series.

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

Committee on Financial Services Holds Virtual Hearing - Holding Megabanks Accountable

The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services held a virtual hearing on banking practices, programs and policies of the nation’s largest banks.

May 27, 2021

Committee on Small Business

Committee Conducts Oversight Hearing over SBA Pandemic Grant Programs

May 27, 2021

The House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations, held a hearing focused on assessing the implementation and effectiveness of the Small Business Administration’s pandemic-related grant programs. The hearing gathered small business owners and stakeholders to testify on their experience obtaining relief and their recommendations for improving the programs.

Small Business Committee Holds Hearing on SBA’s COVID-19 Programs

May 26, 2021

The House Committee on Small Business held a virtual hearing on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) COVID-19 programs. SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman testified about the unprecedented challenges facing small business and the implementation and effectiveness of the economic relief programs.

Federal Agencies

Department of the Treasury

Yellen Testifies before Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Committee on Appropriations

May 27, 2021

Secretary of the Treasury (Treasury) Janet L. Yellen testified at a meeting of the House Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Committee on Appropriations. Secretary Yellen discussed the state of Treasury and previewed components of the Biden Administration’s budget, which is expected to be released on May 28.

Testimony

Agencies Announce Number of Economic Impact Payments to Date

May 26, 2021

The U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced they have disbursed more than 1.8 million additional Economic Impact Payments under the American Rescue Plan, bringing the total so far to almost 167 million payments for a total of approximately $391 billion.

News Release

Federal Reserve Board

Federal Reserve Discussion Paper Revisits Capital-Skill Complementarity, Inequality, and Labor Share

May 27, 2021

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System published a discussion paper that examines how well a previously developed model on capital-skill complementarity and inequality accounts for more recent data, including large changes in labor’s share of income.

Full Paper

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Blog: DCOVID-19 and Small Businesses: Uneven Patterns by Race and Income

May 27, 2021

As part of its Liberty Street Economics blog series, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York posted an article examining trends in the revenue of small businesses during the course of the pandemic. The authors find that all counties experienced a drastic decline in consumer spending when the pandemic hit, but the extent of the decline differed as did the rates of recovery along the demographic lines of race and income.

Blog Post

Blog: Who Benefited from PPP Loans by Fintech Lenders?

May 27, 2021

As part of its Liberty Street Economics blog series, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York posted a series of articles that discuss Paycheck Protection Program loans issued by fintech lenders.

Blog Post

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Boston Fed Publishes Paper on Main Street Lending Program

May 27, 2021

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston published a paper that investigates the lending activity of the Main Street Lending Program which the Federal Reserve established at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. The Main Street Program was the largest (by total principal outstanding) of the Federal Reserve’s emergency credit and liquidity facilities. The authors found fairly robust evidence that Main Street Program accomplished its key goal of directing more funds where and when they were most needed. Businesses located in states with more severe declines in commercial activity (as proxied by mobility indicators) and higher infection rates obtained a higher volume of loans from the Main Street Program. Furthermore, the timing of the loans tended to coincide with the need, with more loans being applied for and approved when a state experienced an increase in its state-wide infection rate.

Full Paper

Securities and Exchange Commission

Commissioner Crenshaw Delivers Remarks at the 40th Annual SEC Small Business Forum

May 27, 2021

Commissioner Carline A. Crenshaw of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delivered remarks at the SEC’s Small Business Forum.

Statement

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

New CFPB Report Finds Manufactured Housing Loan Borrowers Face Higher Interest Rates, Risks, and Barriers to Credit

May 27, 2021

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a report that provides new insights into the financing of manufactured housing.

CFPB Publishes Summary of 2021 Research Conference on Housing and Consumer Finance

May 27, 2021

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a summary of its 2021 Research Conference, held on May 6. The presentations included research by academics and policymakers covering various topics in household and consumer finance.

Federal Housing Finance Agency

FHFA Releases Report on Non-performing Loan Sales

May 27, 2021

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a report on the sale of non-performing loans (NPLs) by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises).

Department of Labor

DOL Issues Semiannual Report to Congress

May 27, 2021

The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General published its Semiannual Report to Congress.

DOL Publishes Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report Update

May 27, 2021

The Department of Labor published its Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report. In the week ending May 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 406,000, a decrease of 38,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 444,000. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The 4-week moving average was 458,750, a decrease of 46,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 504,750. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500.

News Release

International

European Banking Authority

EBA Consults on new Guidelines on Cooperation and Information Exchange in the Area of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism

May 27, 2021

The European Banking Authority launched a public consultation on its new Guidelines that set out how prudential supervisors, AML/CFT supervisors and financial intelligence units should cooperate and exchange information in relation to AML/CFT, in line with provisions laid down in the Capital Requirements Directive. This consultation runs until 27 August 2021.

EBA Provides a Comparison of Provisioning in the United States and the European Union in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

May 27, 2021

The European Banking Authority published a thematic note comparing provisioning practices in the US and the EU during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The note looks into the differences in the macroeconomic impact of the pandemic, in banks’ loan portfolios, and in accounting rules.

EBA Issues Report on the Application of the BRRD Early Intervention Framework

May 27, 2021

The European Banking Authority published a Report on the application of early intervention measures (EIMs) under the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive. The Report highlights the key challenges faced by supervisors in the application of the current regulatory framework on the EIMs and various options for addressing them.