#AML – Page 2 – Federal Financial Analytics

13 02, 2024

DAILY021324

Eliza Allen2024-02-13T17:42:19-05:00February 13th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

Durbin Tries Another Approach to Advance Card-Fee Limits

After trying various ways to bring his credit-card fee bill to the floor, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair and Majority Leader Durbin (D-IL) has scheduled a hearing on this controversial bipartisan measure (see FSM Report INTERCHANGE10).

FinCEN Reaches SEC Agreement to Bring Investment Advisers Under AML/CFT Standards

As it has repeatedly promised, FinCEN today revised a 2015 proposal and issued a new one to subject investment advisers to AML and CFT requirements similar to, but still less restrictive than, those that have long governed banks.

HFSC Rallies to Crypto AML/CFT Defense

The HFSC staff memo on Thursday’s Digital-Assets Subcommittee hearing makes it clear that cryptoasset entities will be given a strong platform from which to resist calls in the Senate to subject cryptoasset transactions to AML and sanctions law.

Gensler Reinforces AI Concerns

In remarks today, SEC Chair Gensler acknowledged AI’s benefits in a manner consistent with the President’s executive order (see Client Report AI3), but then launched into a sharp critique of its risks in line with the agency’s pending rule in this arena.

Bowman Takes Fed Accountability, Transparency to Task

In an essay today, FRB Gov. Bowman emphasized that regulatory accountability does not undermine the independence also essential to a sound, innovative banking system.

Gensler Turns to Bank/Hedge-Fund Interconnection

In addition to his speech on AI earlier today, SEC Chair Gensler today engaged in a wide-ranging discussion of key financial policy questions.

Daily021324.pdf…

22 12, 2023

DAILY122223

Eliza Allen2023-12-29T10:01:49-05:00December 22nd, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

President Imposes Sweeping Secondary Sanctions

Responding to ongoing evidence that sanctions are not working as hoped despite recent Treasury assurances they are, the President today issued a sweeping executive order and Treasury laid out secondary sanctions for financial institutions found to facilitate Russian Federation finances related to its “war machine.” We will shortly provide clients with an in-depth analysis of these actions which pose significant threats to dollar-clearing access for financial institutions that have so far been largely outside the reach of existing sanctions.

Treasury Requests Feedback for Financial Inclusion Strategy

Following a statutory directive, Treasury today issued an RFI to develop a national strategy for financial inclusion. We will shortly provide clients with an in-depth report on the RFI. Noting significant disparities in banking-system access for LMI, low-wealth, Black, and Hispanic households as well as discrepancies in rates of stock and business ownership between white, Black, and Hispanic households, the RFI invites recommendations for policy, government programs, financial products, technology, and other tools and market infrastructure.

Brown Prioritizes Housing, ILC Bill, AI in 2024

The Senate Banking Committee today released its policy outlook entering 2024 prioritizing affordable housing, enacting the ILC-powers bill (see FSM Report ILC17), and AI financial-sector policy (likely here picking up the Warner-Kennedy bill we will shortly assess in depth).

Daily122223.pdf

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21 12, 2023

DAILY122123

Eliza Allen2023-12-21T16:29:00-05:00December 21st, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

OFR Nomination Scuttled

Although Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) recently called for his confirmation, Ron Borzekowski’s appointment as Director of the Office of Financial Research was scuttled yesterday in the Senate.

Treasury Payment-System Policy Addresses Resilience, Reserve-Currency Status, Inter-Operability

Providing an update on Treasury’s working group on the future of money and payments, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Financial Markets Nicholas Tabor yesterday indicated that the working group is considering the implications of new payment technologies for smooth international financial system functioning, U.S. national security, privacy, and financial inclusion.

Reserve Banks Promise a Peek

Tidying up, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released a new “Transparency and Accountability” policy on behalf of all of the System’s Banks.

Regulators Clarify Bank BOI Expectations

FinCEN was today joined by the FDIC, FRB, OCC, NCUA, and State Bank and Credit Union Regulators in an interagency statement clarifying that FinCEN’s beneficial ownership information Access Rule does not create new regulatory requirements or supervisory expectations for banks to access BOI from the beneficial ownership IT System.

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15 12, 2023

DAILY121523

Eliza Allen2023-12-15T17:31:25-05:00December 15th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Crypto Measures Await Next Session

As anticipated, HFSC Chair McHenry (R-NC) was able to fend off concerted efforts by Sens. Brown (D-OH) and Warren (D-MA) to add the Warren-Marshall crypto bill to the National Defense Authorization Act.

FSOC to Target Hedge Funds, Nonbank Mortgage Companies

The readout from Treasury on yesterday’s FSOC meeting provides insight into the Council’s executive session suggesting significant near-term systemic action regarding hedge funds.

FSB Plans Broad Rewrite of Public Backstops, GSIFI Resolvability, Operational Readiness

The FSB’s 2023 Resolution Report today advises banks and public sector authorities to be prepared to access public sector funding in resolution, with the Board planning to review whether existing public sector backstops are adequate to meet potential failure scenarios.

Brown Renews Bipartisan Quest to Constrain Nonbank Banks

Advancing the big-tech concerns he most recently voiced before GSIB CEOs (see Client Report GSIB23), Senate Banking Chairman Brown (D-OH) has introduced S. 3538, bipartisan legislation to impose bank regulation on non-bank parent companies of insured depository institutions.

DOJ Targets Fraudulent Microtransactions

Cracking down on unauthorized bank account charges, the DOJ today announced multiple actions against “sham” companies alleged to have used misrepresentations or unauthorized charges to steal money from consumers’ financial accounts.

CRS Warns Credit Card Act Could Result In Risky Retailer Payment Networks

The CRS this week issued a report analyzing the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Competition Act, S.1838 (see FSM Report INTERCHANGE10), projecting that fee caps will have a greater impact on transaction fees than competition, with …

14 12, 2023

DAILY121423

Arezou Rafikian2023-12-15T17:22:54-05:00December 14th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Top Senate Democrats Heighten Payment App Scrutiny

Continuing to shift their focus from Zelle to payment-service providers, Senate Banking Chairman Brown (D-OH) along with Sens. Reed (D-RI) and Warren (D-MA) today sent letters to Paypal and CashApp urging them to adopt new scam-reimbursement policies.

Treasury Defends Russian Sanctions, Economic-Warfare Clout

Facing increasing assertions that U.S.-led sanctions are not meaningfully affecting Russia, Treasury today issued a blog stoutly defending sanctions effectiveness.

Reed Presses OFR to Subpoena Shadow-Bank Data

The principal sponsor of the Dodd-Frank provisions creating the Office of Financial Research, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), today defended the agency on grounds that it lacks a confirmed director, promising to push the appointment on the floor as quickly as possible.

Basel Targets Stablecoin Reserve-Asset Risk

Moving forward with “targeted” changes to current standards, the Basel Committee today outlined revisions to its crypto standards with significant practical implications.

Liang Disputes Over-Arching Need for New AI Regs

Treasury Under Secretary Liang today argued that AI is not fundamentally different than other financial innovations and is already subject to existing consumer-protection, safety-and-soundness, illicit-finance, and financial-stability guardrails.

FRB-NY Official Highlights AI Promise, Problems, Policy Action

Summarizing a recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York AI conference, the Bank’s chief risk officer, Mihaela Nistor, concluded that AI can now identify GSIB and GSIFI risk due to its ability to detect tail behavior not now captured by relevant models.

Democrats Urge CFPB to Take Second Stand Against Forced Arbitration

Sens. Warren (D-MA) and Sanders (I-VT) were today …

12 12, 2023

DAILY121223

Eliza Allen2023-12-12T17:09:22-05:00December 12th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

IMF Calls for Enhanced Climate-Risk Analyses, Stress-Testing

Calling for implementation of the Basel Committee’s climate-related financial risk principles (see FSM Report CLIMATE14), the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department Director, Tobias Adrian, today pressed central banks to enhance their climate risk analyses and adapt stress-testing frameworks to better reflect climate-financial risk transmission and amplification channels.

Agencies Come Under Still More Workplace-Practice Scrutiny, Political Pressure

As we noted last week, House Republicans are now using ongoing assertions of FDIC workplace dysfunction to attack the OCC.

HFSC Subcomm Considers Sanctions Enforcement

Today’s HFSC National Security Subcommittee hearing focused primarily on critiques of US energy sanctions enforcement related to Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.

House Select Committee Calls on Fed to Stress Test China Risk

The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party today released a bipartisan report urging Congress to direct the Fed to stress-test U.S. banks for their ability to withstand Chinese market risk, produce classified reports on these assessments, and consider the financial market impact of potential sanctions on Chinese financial firms.

Basel Proposes Modest Fix to IRR Standards, Post-SVB Revisions Await

As anticipated, the Basel Committee today released a consultation revising global interest-rate risk (IRR), standards updating current banking-book standards (see FSM Report IRR7) to toughen the IRR-shock calibration.

McKernan Extends Capital Olive Branch

FDIC Director McKernan today offered an end-game compromise that might actually lead to final rules in 2024 that defer some of the …

11 12, 2023

Daily121123

Shane Smith2023-12-11T16:51:51-05:00December 11th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Treasury Broadens Illicit Finance Scope to CRE, Investment Advisors

In connection with an order sanctioning two Afghanis for transnational corruption, Treasury and FinCEN today issued a fact sheet on actions under way to address corruption and other illicit transactions.

White House Threatens Veto on Bill Curtailing OCC, Other Agencies

The House Rules Committee is expected today to clear H.R. 357 for floor action as soon as tomorrow, prompting the White House to issue a veto threat.

Warren Presses Case for Crypto Standards in NDAA

Strengthening her position ahead of a fight with HFSC Chair McHenry (R-NC) over crypto provisions in the NDAA, Sen. Warren (D-MA) today announced that Sens. Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Luján (D-NM) alongside Senate Banking Committee members Warnock (D-GA), Butler (D-CA), and Van Hollen (D-MD) joined Sen. Warren and 14 other Senators as co-sponsors of the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act.

CGFS Wants LTV-Related Capital Rules Adjusted to Reflect House Prices

Reviewing the link between housing finance and systemic risk, the BIS Committee on the Global Financial System’s report today focused on the need for automatic stabilizers that provide macroprudential controls in this high-risk sector.

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8 12, 2023

DAILY120823

Eliza Allen2023-12-08T16:54:36-05:00December 8th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Basel Study Concludes Banks at Climate Risk Despite Lit-Survey Conclusions

A new Basel Committee working paper provides a literature review of recent analyses of climate risk’s impact on financial institutions to assess the drivers key to establishing the scenario analyses recently outlined in the Committee’s final climate-risk principles (see FSM Report CLIMATE14) and those recently finalized by U.S. banking agencies (see FSM Report CLIMATE17).

EU Regulators Seek AT1 Certainty

Treasury and the EU today issued a joint statement summarizing topics discussed at this week’s U.S.-EU financial regulatory forum. These included financial stability, bank-regulatory developments, AML, sustainable finance, supervisory coordination, and digital-finance operational resilience.

Senate GOP Tackles U.S. Participation in FSB Entities

Sens. Braun (R-IN), Hagerty (R-TN), and Marshall (R-KS) have introduced S. 3446, a bill to require the banking agencies to report on their interactions with nongovernmental international organizations. This is part of the broader campaign to block U.S. agencies from adhering to edicts such as the end-game capital rules, reaching also insurance and securities standards.

HFSC Leadership Blast Hsu’s Competence, Agency Operations

HFSC Subcommittee Chairs Barr (R-KY), Huizenga (R-MI) and Hill (R-AR) sent a letter today to Acting Comptroller Michael Hsu continuing their attacks (see Client Report FINTECH33) against the OCC for its recently reported hiring of an individual with falsified credentials to oversee the OCC’s Office of Financial Technology.

Daily120823.pdf…

5 12, 2023

FINTECH33

Shane Smith2023-12-05T15:39:20-05:00December 5th, 2023|5- Client Report|

HFSC GOP Grills Regulators Over Novel Activities, Third-Party Risk Management Guidance

At today’s HFSC Digital Assets Subcommittee hearing on banking agency financial innovation, Republicans raised concerns about the Fed’s novel activities guidance (see FSM Report FINTECH32), interagency guidance on third-party risk management (see FSM Report VENDOR10), and the SEC’s predictive data analytics proposal. Members on both sides of the aisle also focused on AI, crypto, and CBDC, with Republicans pressing for hands-off crypto policy while Democrats urged faster action to curb AI risk. Pointing to the OCC’s recent hiring scandal, Subcommittee Chairman Hill (R-AR) suggested that more oversight might be necessary.

FINTECH33.pdf…

29 11, 2023

DAILY112923

Eliza Allen2023-11-29T16:51:26-05:00November 29th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

FDIC’s OIG Presses for Non-Capital PCA Triggers, Additional Supervisory Reform

The FDIC’s OIG report on First Republic’s failure is at least as scathing as its SBNY post-mortem.

Treasury Launches Anti-Crypto Enforcement Campaign

In remarks today from Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo, Treasury officially launched its anti-crypto sanctions and AML campaign.

Basel Proposes Sweeping Climate-Risk Disclosure Standards

Following the FSB’s finding that most banks were failing to provide meaningful climate disclosures, the Basel Committee today issued proposed climate-risk disclosure standards.

3Q Report Highlights AOCI Risk

The FDIC’s 3Q banking-condition report includes a stunning 22.5 percent rise in the total of HTM and AFS unrealized losses, which now stand at $683.9 billion.

Senate Banking Opens Private-Credit Inquiry

Senate Banking Chair Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Reed (D-RI) today asked FRB Vice Chair Barr, Acting Comptroller Hsu, and FDIC Chair Gruenberg to look into the risks private credit poses to the banking system.

Daily112923.pdf…