PH FedACTion: Financial Regulatory Updates
Daily Financial Regulation Update -- Thursday, February 18, 2021
February 18, 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)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Rohit Chopra (Nominee)
- Acting Director: Dave Uejio (January 20, 2020)
- Confirmation hearing to be scheduled (additional details to follow)
- Readout of Incoming Chair Brown’s Meeting with Rohit Chopra (February 3, 2021)
Securities and Exchange Commission – Gary Gensler (Nominee)
- Acting Chair: Allison Herren Lee (January 21, 2021)
- Confirmation hearing to be scheduled (additional details to follow)
- 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)
Small Business Administration – Isabel Guzman (Nominee)
- 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 – Miguel Cardona (Nominee)
- Acting Secretary: Phil Rosenfelt (January 20, 2021)
- Education Announces Senior Appointees (January 21, 2021)
- Education Announces More Biden-Harris Appointees (February 3, 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
Full Committee Hearing on Recent Market Volatility to be Held on February 18, 2021
February 17, 2021
The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing titled, “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide,” on February 18, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern.
Federal Agencies
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
PRAC Releases Virtual Stakeholder Listening Forum with Experts Representing Borrowers and Small Business
February 17, 2021
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s Financial Sector Oversight working group released a new video of a stakeholder listening forum entitled, “Pandemic Response: Perspectives from Borrowers.” The panel discussion covered topics such as: (i) the experience of small businesses, particularly minority-owned businesses, with the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans; (ii) lack of data collection on program recipients; (iii) recommendations to improve communication between government agencies administering programs and their participants to better reach diverse audiences; and (iv) fraud, waste and abuse in pandemic response programs.
Federal Reserve Board
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee for January 26-27, 2021
February 17, 2021
The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee released the minutes of the FOMC meeting held on January 26 and 27, 2021.
Federal Reserve Board Paper: Is Lending Distance Really Changing? Distance Dynamics and Loan Composition in Small Business Lending
February 17, 2021
The Federal Reserve Board’s Divisions of Research & Statistics and Monetary Affairs released a paper titled “Is Lending Distance Really Changing? Distance Dynamics and Loan Composition in Small Business Lending.”
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Total Household Debt Increased in Q4 2020 and Newly Originated Mortgages Reach Record High
February 17, 2021
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data issued its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The report shows that total household debt increased by $206 billion (1.4%) to $14.56 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2020, driven in part by a steep increase in mortgage originations. The total debt balance is now $414 billion higher than the year prior.
Report: Credit Access and Mobility during the Flint Water Crisis
February 17, 2021
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York prepared a report on credit access and household mobility of the residents of Flint, Michigan who were exposed to lead-contaminated water. In the paper, the authors use the spatial distribution of lead and galvanized pipes in Flint to study the effect of the crisis on households financial health -- including loan balances, repayment of outstanding debt, and Equifax risk scores -- as well as on household mobility.
February Regional Business Surveys Find Widespread Supply Disruptions
February 17, 2021
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s (New York Fed) Liberty Street Economics blog issued a post titled “February Regional Business Surveys Find Widespread Supply Disruptions.” According to the New York Fed’s February regional business surveys, business activity increased in the region’s manufacturing sector in recent weeks but continued to decline in the region’s service sector.
- Business Leaders Survey Full Report
- Business Leaders Survey Overview
- Supplemental Survey Report
- Blog Post
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Boston Fed Announces New Members of Two Advisory Councils
February 17, 2021
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced three new members of its Community Development Advisory Council and two new members of its Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FDIC Announces Personnel Changes
February 17, 2021
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the appointments of Arleas Upton Kea as Deputy to the Chairman for External Affairs and Nikita Pearson as Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. As members of Chairman Jelena McWilliams’s senior leadership team, Ms. Kea and Ms. Pearson will spearhead the FDIC’s efforts to expand stakeholder engagement and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the FDIC and across the financial sector.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
OCC Promotes Two to Deputy Comptroller for Large Bank Supervision
February 17, 2021
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced the promotions of Tanya Smith and Michael (Tim) McDonald to Deputy Comptroller for Large Bank Supervision. Both individuals will assume their new duties in spring of 2021.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam Names Alicia L. Lewis Special Counsel
February 17, 2021
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam announced that Alicia L. Lewis has rejoined his office and will serve as his Special Counsel. Ms. Lewis has served at the CFTC since 2009.
National Credit Union Association
Registration Now Open for Webinar on Earned Income Tax Credit and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Programs
February 17, 2021
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that they are co-hosting a webinar on the Earned Income Tax Credit and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs on February 23, 2021 at 2 p.m. Eastern. Representatives of the NCUA’s Office on Consumer Financial Protection, along with NCUA Board Member Rodney E. Hood and senior IRS officials, will participate in the webinar. The NCUA and the IRS encourage credit unions, their members, and others to participate in the webinar to learn more about these tax programs.
State Agencies
New York State Department of Financial Services
DFS Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell Announces Ten Appointments to New York State Insurance Advisory Board
February 17, 2021
Superintendent of Financial Services Linda A. Lacewell announced that the New York State Department of Financial Services appointed ten members to serve a three-year term on the New York State Insurance Advisory Board (Board). Members of the Board include representatives of the insurance industry and consumer advocates, as required by statute.
International
Bank of England
Speech: QE as an Economic Policy Tool - What Does it Do and How Should We Use It?
February 17, 2021
Dave Ramsden, Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking at the Bank of England, gave a speech titled “QE as an Economic Policy Tool – What Does it Do and How Should We Use It?” His speech focuses on quantitative easing and its use as an economic policy tool.