HFSC GOP Try to Restrain FDIC Democrats
Squaring off in the partisan battle over FDIC merger policy, HFSC Republicans have launched their own investigation into what they call the Democrats’ “power grab.” Republicans also “demanded” that Chairwoman Waters (D-CA) convene an oversight hearing even as they seek Democrats to join their inquiry.
Powell Commends MMF Proposal, Demurs on Crypto Risk
As expected, Fed Chair Powell’s press conference today focused almost entirely on inflation. However, Mr. Powell used a question on financial stability to applaud the SEC’s MMF proposal (see alert earlier today). Asked about crypto’s financial-stability risk, the Fed chair discounted near-term systemic risk, but consumer protection and market issues such as leverage outside the Fed’s jurisdiction warrant attention.
Senate Dems Demand BNPL Standards
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) was joined today by Banking Chairman Brown (D-OH), Sen. Warren (D-MA), and other Committee Democrats in calling on the CFPB to regulate buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) products.
SEC Advances Controversial Swing-Pricing MMF Rewrite
Acting on a major FSOC, Fed, and global worry, the SEC today approved a multi-prong proposal realigning MMF liquidity standards and clarifying how MMFs can handle negative rates. The most controversial of the options would impose swing pricing on prime institutional and tax-exempt funds, an approach about which two Democratic commissioners expressed some concerns and the FSB seemed particularly skeptical in its recent MMF-options paper (see FSM Report MMF18).