#Carsten – Federal Financial Analytics

19 05, 2023

DAILY051923

Eliza Allen2023-05-19T17:03:07-04:00May 19th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Bowman Strengthens Stand Against New Rules, Possible Supervisory Overkill

In case anyone doubted her meaning last week, FRB Gov. Bowman today repeated her strong opposition to the regulatory rewrites spelled out in what at first seemed the Fed’s but is now apparently only Vice Chairman Barr’s report (see Client Report REFORM221). Ms. Bowman also reiterates her call for an independent study, continued tailoring, and improved supervision.

Bills To Reduce Regulatory Independence Advance

As anticipated at his last hearing, HFSC Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Barr (R-KY) has now formally introduced three regulatory transparency bills. We will shortly provide clients with in-depth analyses of these bills, which we expect quickly to proceed to mark-up on largely party-line votes.

Warren Pounces On Reports Of Treasury-Bond Assessment Proposal

Sen. Warren (D-MA) yesterday sent a strongly-worded letter to FDIC Chairman Gruenberg demanding that the FDIC reject reported big bank plans to replenish the DIF with at-par Treasury bonds rather than the proposed special assessment (see FSM Report DEPOSITINSURANCE120).

BIS’s Carstens Dismisses Crypto, Calls For Tighter Non-bank Controls

In a wide-ranging speech today, BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens sharply criticized cryptocurrencies and called for greater regulation of the nonbank sector to avert a systemic financial crisis.

Daily051923.pdf…

22 02, 2023

DAILY022223

Eliza Allen2023-02-22T16:44:44-05:00February 22nd, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

BIS Backs Away From Old CBDC, Presses New “Unified Ledger”

BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens today distanced the global central bank somewhat from its prior calls for two-tier CBDC as quickly as possible (see Client Report CBDC6).

Administration Drops FHA Premiums in Broad Housing Push

In a victory for mortgage lenders and defeat for private mortgage insurance and the GSEs, Vice President Harris announced that FHA will shortly reduce mortgage premiums by .30 percent, saving the average homeowner $800 in total premiums or $67 a month.

GOP Opens Anti-CBDC Campaign

Starting the GOP’s 2023 campaign against CBDC with a specific initiative, Rep. Tom Emmer SP (R-MN) and nine Republicans have introduced H.R. 1122.

FDIC Found Remiss re Systemic Resolution

In its assessment of challenges facing FDIC leadership, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) finds that the agency may not be ready to handle an OLA or systemic resolution, nor is it yet able to assess climate financial risk and sanctions compliance.

FHFA Looks Into FHLB-Member Community Activities

Perhaps advancing FHFA Director Thompson’s commitment to review aspects of the FHLB System, her agency today released a request for views on the extent to which a Home Loan Bank member supported its community to retain eligibility for long-term System advances.

Daily022223.pdf…

8 02, 2023

DAILY020823

Eliza Allen2023-02-08T17:36:06-05:00February 8th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Biden Puts His Stamp On CFPB Credit-Card Fee Controls

Scuttling industry expectations that the CFPB’s credit-card fee clampdown will never be implemented, President Biden last night zeroed in on his administration’s campaign to eliminate “junk” fees, including “exorbitant” overdraft fees and credit card late fees.

Senate GOP Launches Anti-Woke Attack

Accelerating the GOP’s anti-woke endeavor, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-SD) and 36 GOP senators have introduced S. 293 to impose strict sanctions on banks that provide or deny financial services for what the senators consider political reasons.

Treasury: Happy In The Cloud If It Doesn’t Rain

In its long-awaited report today on the systemic implications of cloud computing, Treasury today encouraged more rapid adoption even as it pointed to systemic-risk considerations.

HFSC Subcomm: Privacy Compromise May Not Prove Impossible

Today’s kick-off hearing by HFSC’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy suggested that Chairman Barr (R-KY) will move deliberately on his priorities even as full Committee Chairman McHenry (R-NC) pursues higher-profile items such as anti-China policy.

BIS Renews Campaign For Bigtech Systemic Standards

Reiterating longstanding BIS concerns about bigtech platforms, General Manager Agustín Carstens today updated the changes he believes are urgently needed to address growing systemic risk in this sector.

Daily020823.pdf…

21 06, 2022

DAILY062122

Eliza Allen2023-01-26T11:42:57-05:00June 21st, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

Deadline Set for CFPB Inquiry into Customer Service
The Federal Register today includes the CFPB’s RFI on how big banks serve their customers (see FSM Report CONSUMER43), now seeking a comment deadline of July 21.

BIS Presses Hard for Fast-Acting CBDCs, Payment Systems, Crypto Standards
The BIS today issued an ambitious report outlining what it calls a “new monetary order.”

SEC Finally Nabs a CRA for Conflicts of Interest
The SEC today announced an unusual enforcement case against a credit rating agency, acting on demands recently expressed by HFSC Democrats.

FDIC Proposes DIF Rate Hike, Possible Assessment-Standard Realignment
Taking action after two years, the FDIC today proposed to increase bank DIF premiums by two basis points.

HFSC Highlights Fed Policy Twists Ahead of Powell Hearing
The Democratic staff memo ahead of HFSC’s Thursday hearing with Chairman Powell provides a detailed discussion of recent monetary-policy moves and the extent to which the Fed has been surprised by macroeconomic events.

Spurred by GAO, OCC to Ramp Up Redlining-Exam Procedures
The GAO today recommended that the OCC update its redlining examination procedures and improve its data collection related to small banks in this area.

Daily062122.pdf…

19 04, 2022

DAILY041922

Eliza Allen2023-03-02T10:47:37-05:00April 19th, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

CRA Reform Still in “Soon” Timeframe

In remarks today, Acting Comptroller Hsu provided only a little insight into ongoing negotiations over a new CRA proposal, reiterating that one will “soon” be released.

IMF Warns of Payment-System Fragmentation, Dealer-Bank Commodity

The IMF today released more of its annual global financial report, going beyond the assessment of the renewed sovereign doom loop we addressed in yesterday’s FedFin alert to consider other financial-stability risks and call for quick action on a new fintech/crypto regulatory framework.

Fed Finds Nonpublic Prime Funds More Resilient

As the SEC contemplates MMF reform (see FSM Report MMF19), the Fed has continued to issue reports highlighting vulnerabilities that the central bank likely feels are only partially addressed by the Commission’s preferred liquidity fix: swing pricing.

IMF Calls for Fast, Tough Fintech, DeFi Regulation and Supervision

The IMF’s overarching financial-stability report not only deals with the structural risks addressed earlier today, but also those posed by fintechs and DeFi. As presaged in its blog post last week, the report concludes that fintechs pose risks both on their own and to less technologically advanced banks, each of which requires regulatory action to prevent systemic risk.

Carstens Endorses Fed’s Cautious CBDC Stance

In a discussion about the future of digital money during the IMF annual meetings, BIS General Manager Carstens endorsed Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s cautious approach to creating a CBDC (see FSM Report CBDC10), citing the critical importance of reliability to CBDC success.

Daily041922.pdf…

2 02, 2022

DAILY020222

Eliza Allen2023-04-05T14:10:54-04:00February 2nd, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

BIS Outlines Regulatory Goals for More Tech-Based Lending
A new BIS paper approaches fintech’s financial-inclusion impact from a new angle: the extent to which personal-information collateral backing consumer debt can be governed to ensure that innovation also advances inclusion without leading to undue market power and/or disintermediation.

BIS Chief Calls for CBDC ASAP
The BIS today released a speech late last month from Managing Director Carstens saying that the “soul of money” – i.e., its essence and purpose – is best entrusted to central banks, not DLT or private issuers.

CFPB Redoubles Effort Against “Junk” Fees
The CFPB today posted a note standing firmly behind its RFI seeking input on the “junk” fees the agency believes pervade consumer finance (see FSM Report CONSUMER38).

Senate GOP Heighten Objections to FDIC Democrats
Senate Republicans today strengthened their objections to the December effort by FDIC Democrats to release a bank-merger RFI (see FSM Report MERGER9), introducing legislation to strip the Board of the Comptroller of the Currency and CFPB director.

Daily020222.pdf…

6 12, 2021

Daily120621

Arezou Rafikian2023-05-23T13:35:28-04:00December 6th, 2021|2- Daily Briefing|

BIS Tackles NBFI-Reform Specifics
Building on the FSB’s NBFI priority focus, BIS Managing Director Agustín Carstens today reiterated his call for both entity-and activity-based standards for systemic-scale nonbanks.

White House Emphasizes Anti-Corruption Commitments
In connection with the President’s democracy summit, the White House today issued a fact sheet laying out a reinvigorated version of the President’s prior anti-corruption commitment.

OCC Outlines Climate-Risk Agenda
The OCC’s semi-annual risk report today includes a new section on the agency’s climate-risk plans. As anticipated, the OCC in the near-term will build out large-bank risk-management standards based on Basel’s new principles (See FSM Report CLIMATE12), but these will be only the agency’s “first step.”

Daily120621.pdf…