#China – Federal Financial Analytics

6 06, 2023

DAILY060623

Eliza Allen2023-06-06T16:49:29-04:00June 6th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

HFSC Tackles China, CBDC

The committee memo for the HFSC National Security Subcommittee hearing tomorrow makes it clear that China is the main focus of dollar-sovereignty considerations and CBDC will play a central role in this debate.

CFPB Wants Chatbots To Stop Talking

The CFPB today released an “issue spotlight” looking at how AI in general and chatbots in particular may adversely affect retail-finance consumers, concluding that chatbots may be useful for simple inquiries, but effectiveness wanes as complexity rises.

Third-Party Guidance Gets Still More Stringent

After repeatedly saying that third-party risk management is a top priority, the banking agencies today finalized a 2021 proposal (see FSM Report VENDOR9) tightening current requirements.

GOP Questions ONRRP, Treasury RWAs

Although HFSC Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Barr (R-KY) today highlighted the legislation on which today’s hearing was to focus, much of the discussion over Treasury-management policy revisited last week’s debt-ceiling battles.

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31 05, 2023

CHINA17

Max Camateros-Mann2023-05-31T16:21:22-04:00May 31st, 2023|5- Client Report|

Senate Banking Targets China’s Crypto, Data Controls

While largely focused on countering fentanyl, today’s Senate Banking hearing on China, saw Committee Democrats try to ascertain the details of a potential outbound investment executive order and Republicans addressing what they believe to be shortcomings in data privacy, AML regulation, and sanctions policy. Despite broad agreement on the national security and economic threat of China, the only apparent Congressional actions address crypto and data privacy.

CHINA17.pdf…

30 05, 2023

Daily053023

Eliza Allen2023-05-30T17:13:13-04:00May 30th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Fed Study Validates Bank/Shadow-Bank Interconnections, Systemic Risk

A new study by staff from the Federal Reserve Banks of Boston and New York evaluates the banking-sector impact of fire sales across multiple NBFI segments, finding numerous bank vulnerabilities to nonbanks not only through direct exposures, but also through complex, indirect channels.

McHenry Protests U.S. Outbound-Investment Constraints

HFSC Chairman McHenry (R-NC) sent a letter to Secretary Yellen late Friday demanding information about a potential executive order that would enable CFIUS to prohibit or require notification of outbound investments into China, stating that the Administration’s interest in capital controls necessitates Congressional oversight.

IMF Article Calls SVB Resolution “Riskless Capitalism”

An article in the IMF’s forthcoming Finance and Development magazine issue argues that SVB’s uninsured depositors enjoyed “riskless capitalism,” concluding that high moral hazard-risks will persist without incentives for depositor due diligence.

FTC Demands Greater Debit-Card Data Access

The FTC today finalized a consent order requiring Mastercard to provide competing card networks with the customer account information necessary to process debit payments, alleging that the company illegally withheld that information to prevent merchants from using its competitors or Mastercard-branded debit cards saved in e-wallets outside of traditional networks.

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23 05, 2023

DAILY052323

Eliza Allen2023-05-23T17:15:40-04:00May 23rd, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

House Advances Consensus Anti-China Reporting Legislation

The House yesterday voted 400-5 to approve H.R. 1156, bipartisan legislation addressing Congress’ China concerns by mandating a new study.

Gruenberg Endorses Bank On Accounts, Notes Continuing Racial Gaps

In remarks today largely devoid of policy implications, Chairman Gruenberg praised Bank On’s impact on financial inclusion, but noted that racial divides still persist as Black and Hispanic households are more likely to be unbanked than White ones at every income level.

IOSCO Aims at Ending Crypto-Market Arbitrage

Advancing global crypto standards, the International Organization of Securities Commissions today released a consultative report on the contentious question of centralized-market regulation with which a joint HFSC/AG Committee process is now wrestling (see Client Report CRYPTO43).

HFSC GOP Blasts GSE Fees, Supports FHLB System

Today’s HFSC hearing with FHFA Director Thompson was largely the LLPA battle we anticipated, with Republicans lambasting recent actions and Democrats tartly responding that Republicans did not know what they were talking about.

Hsu Echoes Gruenberg’s Bank-On Praises

Following Chairman Gruenberg’s remarks earlier today, Acting Comptroller Hsu similarly praised Bank On’s impact on financial inclusion while highlighting racial and income gaps.

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28 02, 2023

DAILY022823

Eliza Allen2023-02-28T17:16:34-05:00February 28th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

CFPB Treads Gingerly on Mortgage-Disclosure Exceptions

In a notice emphasizing the CFPB’s distaste for allowing regulatory exceptions, the Bureau asks for comment on an application for one to which it seems a bit more sympathetic.

FDIC Sees Sunny Side of Bank Earnings Data

In its review of banking-industry fourth-quarter results, the FDIC today notes a sharp increase in the gap between bank loan yield and deposit interest costs.

Basel Forecasts End-Game Capital Shortfalls

The Basel Committee today issued its latest monitoring report, finding that large global banks saw capital decreases to pre-pandemic levels even as liquidity ratios continued to improve.

Bipartisan China Bills Fly Through HFSC Markup

As anticipated, HFSC today reported five bills to censure China and protect Taiwan, along with bills addressing drug-trafficking financing, biomedical security and bank service company examinations.

Democrats Stand Firm versus Privacy Preemption

Following an orderly and bipartisan start to today’s HFSC markup, Democrats and Republicans today came to verbal blows over the Chairman’s data privacy bill.

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24 02, 2023

Al022723

Eliza Allen2023-02-24T16:57:09-05:00February 24th, 2023|3- This Week|

The Bull In China’s Shop

As we noted as Russia sanctions were introduced almost exactly a year ago and again on Friday, the U.S. is using this “soft-power” tool not only to punish Russia for invading Ukraine, but also to deter other nations – and most especially China – from going beyond rhetorical to military support. This, combined with the subsequent oil-price cap, has kept most neutral nations on the military sidelines, also forcing China to navigate carefully between anti-Taiwan bellicosity and pro-Russian sympathy. However, China has now gone beyond floating the spy balloon that so peeved Members of Congress at an earlier hearing at which sanction sabers were noisily rattled. The House Financial Services Committee will mark up the mildest of its sanctions bills on Tuesday, but China is now in full-throated alliance with Russia, possibly soon sending it armaments and other essentials in express violation of current G7 sanctions. What’s next?

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24 02, 2023

DAILY022423

Eliza Allen2023-02-24T16:55:41-05:00February 24th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

HFSC Starts With A Bang

On Tuesday, HFSC Chairman McHenry (R-NC) honors his commitment to advance significant legislation with what is sure to be a raucous mark-up. Most importantly, Chairman McHenry will bring up a bill yet to be introduced rewriting consumer-data privacy standards.

FHFA New-Product Vetting Delayed

FHFA today pushed back the effective date of its New-Product Rule by sixty days on grounds that more time is needed for the agency and the GSEs to develop the internal processes necessary for compliance. The former effective date was February 27; the new effective date is April 28.

HFSC Set To Lock Horns On Data Privacy

With the opening quote in his release making clear that this will be a partisan fight, HFSC Chairman McHenry (R-NC) formally introduced the privacy legislation that, as noted earlier today, is now set for Tuesday’s mark-up.

CFPB Begins Administrative Adjudication, Speeding Enforcement Actions

The CFPB today finalized new adjudication rules that add administrative adjudication to its usual course of seeking redress in federal district courts. The agency argues that predecessors from which Dodd-Frank drew its responsibilities use administrative adjudication and it is thus within the CFPB’s purview now also to do so.

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10 02, 2023

Al021323

Eliza Allen2023-02-10T17:03:50-05:00February 10th, 2023|3- This Week|

Starting-Gate Signals

As is traditionally the case, Congress kicked off legislative action upon the President’s State of the Union Address even if the response to Mr. Biden was often decidedly untraditional. Last week was the first of what seem sure to be many busy ones and Senate Banking began work on one of its Chairman’s top priorities – housing – ahead of an opening salvo on another high-impact concern – crypto – later this week.

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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…

7 02, 2023

DAILY020723

Eliza Allen2023-02-07T16:53:41-05:00February 7th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

CFPB Extends Digital Marketing Reach To “Pay-To-Play” Platforms

Expanding its reach to other forms of digital marketing (see FSM Report FINTECH30), the CFPB today issued an advisory opinion stipulating that what it calls “pay-to-play” consumer platforms presenting mortgage and settlement options are likely to violate the law.

High-Impact Fed Charter Policy Takes Effect

The Federal Register today includes the FRB’s policy statement rejecting the “states as laboratories for change” construct by conforming state member bank powers largely only to those authorized for national banks. The statement is now effective.

GOP, Democrats Vie for Toughest Anti-China Stance

As we anticipated, at today’s full HFSC Committee hearing on China, Chairman McHenry (R-NC) made it clear that he intends action addressing emerging financial and economic risks, reiterating principles such as a commitment to free markets, opposing policies that stifle innovation, and preventing “malign” financial activities or interests.

Barr Backs Short-Term, Small Dollar Lending, Flexible Public-Welfare Option

In remarks today, Fed Vice Chair Barr stressed the need to eliminate discrimination in banking, noting the importance of the CRA rewrite (see FSM Report CRA32) to address redlining and community development. However, he was silent as to the date by which the agencies are likely to issue the long-awaited final rule.

Daily020723.pdf…