#China – Federal Financial Analytics

18 04, 2024

DAILY041824

Eliza Allen2024-04-18T17:08:48-04:00April 18th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

G7 Backs NBFI Reform

Although prioritizing Ukraine and broad statements about the global economy, the new statement from G7 finance ministers and central bankers also emphasizes the need to pursue the kind of NBFI reforms advanced yesterday by the FSB.

Bowman Battles New Liquidity Regs

FRB Gov. Bowman today reiterated her conviction that sufficient contingency funding should be a matter between banks and supervisors, not a cause for new rules.

Brown, Reed Press Big Banks on Wire Transfer Fraud

Building on their longstanding campaign pressing banks on Zelle, Senate Banking Chair Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Reed (D-RI) today sent letters to the CEOs of JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citi stating that banks have a responsibility to proactively monitor and prevent fraudulent wire transactions and should reimburse customers when these obligations are not met.

House Select Committee Targets Index-Fund Chinese Investments

Building on its prior report pressing financial institutions to address exposures to China and potential systemic risks, the House Select Committee on the CCP today released a bipartisan report sharply criticizing index-fund and asset managers for investing American savings in sanctioned Chinese companies associated with the PLA and/or human-rights abuses.

Daily041824.pdf…

16 04, 2024

DAILY041624

Eliza Allen2024-04-16T17:10:39-04:00April 16th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

House GOP Takes on New Merger Guidelines

The House Small Business Committee today sent a GOP letter to the FTC and Justice Department strongly protesting new merger guidelines (see FSM Report MERGER13) on grounds that they sharply curtail needed small-business capital.

House Hikes Iran Sanctions

Working through a series of sanctions bills in the wake of recent geopolitical developments, the House yesterday voted 294-105 to advance H.R. 5921, a bill introduced by Rep. Huizenga (R-MI) that prohibits Treasury from authorizing transactions by U.S. financial institutions in connection with Iranian imports or exports other than food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance.

House Passes Bill Targeting China-Iran Petroleum Trade

Continuing its response to recent geopolitical events, the House yesterday voted by a 383-11 margin to pass H.R. 5923, a bill from Reps. Lawler (R-NY) and Gottheimer (D-NJ) that would require the President to periodically determine if any Chinese financial institutions have purchased petroleum or petroleum products from Iran, stating that U.S. financial institutions also may not open or maintain certain accounts with Chinese institutions that have done so.

Warren Again Targets OCC Merger Decisions

Continuing recent attacks on the OCC’s approach to mergers, Sens. Warren (D-MA) and Blumenthal (D-CT) yesterday sent a letter to Acting Comptroller Hsu sharply criticizing the agency’s decision first to allow NYCB to acquire Flagstar bank and then do the same shortly thereafter for Signature.

OCC Toughens LCR, NSFR via New Reporting Requirements

The OCC today sought public comment as required by law for …

30 01, 2024

DAILY013024

Eliza Allen2024-01-30T17:13:26-05:00January 30th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

FinCEN Estimates High Bank-BOI Reporting Costs

FinCEN via the Federal Register today requested comment on the estimated total annual reporting and recordkeeping burden for new Access Rule beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements (see FSM Report AML135).

Brown Puts More Pressure on Powell

Following Sen. Warren’s rate-cut demands and affordable housing concerns yesterday, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Brown (D-OH) today sent a letter to FRB Chair Powell also calling for less restrictive monetary policy on grounds that elevated rates negatively impact home affordability, limit the housing supply, restrict small business growth, and dampen wages.

HFSC Targets China Sanctions, Outbound Investments

Today’s HFSC National Security Subcommittee Hearing focused on China sanctions and restrictions on outbound investments.

GOP Demands Retraction of CFPB Tech-Payment Proposal

Reiterating their opposition to the Bureau’s pending digital-payment rule (see FSM Report PAYMENT27), HFSC Chairman McHenry (R-NC) alongside Digital Assets Subcommittee Chairman Hill (R-AR) and Rep. Flood (R-NE) sent a letter today urging the CFPB to reopen and extend the comment period and reconsider finalizing the rule as proposed.

Daily013024.pdf…

12 01, 2024

DAILY011224

Eliza Allen2024-01-12T15:31:11-05:00January 12th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

Emmer, HFSC GOP Reintroduce FSOC Oversight Measure

Following a hearing earlier this week at which GOP Members reiterated longstanding FSOC criticism, House Majority Whip Emmer (R-MN) has reintroduced legislation along with ten other HFSC Republicans to bring FSOC under congressional appropriations.

HFSC Bipartisan AI Task Force Already Divided on Key Priorities

Reflecting growing concern about AI’s risks (see Client Report FSOC29), HFSC Chairman McHenry (R-NC) and Ranking Member Waters (D-CA) yesterday announced the creation of a bipartisan AI Working Group to be led by Digital Assets Subcommittee Chairman Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Lynch (D-MA).

House Passes Measures to Check Chinese Economic Power

The House today passed several bills addressing the role of China in IMF and World Bank policy and a renewed attempt to limit what many Members of Congress consider Chinese currency manipulation (H. R. 839).

The Fed Becomes a Big Loser

The Federal Reserve System today released its preliminary FY23 financial results, the first look into the System’s operating condition above and beyond its significant mark-to-market losses.

Daily011224.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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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 …

15 11, 2023

DAILY111523

Eliza Allen2023-11-15T16:42:07-05:00November 15th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

HFSC Advances Sanctions Bills

HFSC yesterday reported an array of Hamas-sanctions related measures, extending its reach to Iran, China, and other nations deemed to support Hamas. Bipartisan bills with some hope of advancing include measures to require Treasury to report on financial institution’s involvement with Iranian officials (H.R. 6245), mandate that OFAC develop a licensing program for private firms to conduct nominal transactions with sanctioned entities (H.R. 6370), and to expand secondary sanctions to Chinese banks financing the purchase of Iranian oil (H.R. 5923).

Basel Tackles Digital Fraud

The Basel Committee has released a discussion draft seeking views on supervisory and financial-stability implications of digital fraud. Discussion papers of this sort are often precursors to more formal standards, and this one appears to be no exception. While Basel seeks comment on broad questions such as the definition of digital fraud, it also wants views on the prevalence of digital fraud as commenters choose to define it and resulting risks.

Daily111523.pdf…

15 11, 2023

REFORM230

Eliza Allen2023-11-15T15:58:45-05:00November 15th, 2023|5- Client Report|

Bipartisan Capital Bashing Continues in the House

Following yesterday’s Senate Banking hearing (see Client Report REFORM229), today’s HFSC session with top bank regulators again highlighted growing bipartisan consternation over the unintended consequences of the agencies’ capital proposal (see FSM Report CAPITAL230). Although Ranking Member Waters (D-CA) echoed Chairman Brown’s defense, Democratic criticism today went beyond concerns about mortgages and green bonds also to address credit availability, new trading and derivatives standards, capital recognition of securities losses, and insufficient review of the proposal’s quantitative impacts. Republicans continued to bash the proposal for what they said is insufficient economic analysis. Unlike yesterday, attention to the FDIC’s harassment scandal most notably came from Democrats’ side of the aisle, with Ranking Member Waters using all of her questioning time to criticize the FDIC and request a report from each agency describing how they will review sexual-harassment. Reiterating concerns he and Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Chairman Barr (R-KY) recently raised regarding regulators’ interactions with international standard-setters, Chairman McHenry grilled Vice Chair Barr and Acting Comptroller Hsu about staff compensation and agency documentation practices at international events. Mr. Barr emphasized that all Board and staff member compensation comes from the Fed, while Mr. Hsu only said that his agency tracks participation in these bodies to ensure mission alignment. We continue to expect GOP pressure on the international-agency front but no action until GAO completes its report. Chair Gruenberg noted broad alignment with a new incentive-compensation proposal, but revised the initial timeline …

31 10, 2023

DAILY103123

Eliza Allen2023-10-31T17:02:58-04:00October 31st, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

HFSC GOP Turns to Merger-Policy Demands

Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chair Barr (R-KY) and Rep. Fitzgerald (R-WI) last night sent the federal banking-agency heads a stiff letter demanding to know when they plan finally to issue the long-promised bank-merger policy following public notice and comment.

China Leads New BIS CBDC Pilot

In a new CBDC project sponsored by the BIS’s Innovation Hub, central banks either directly associated with China or within its ambit will focus on multi-CBDC wholesale cross-border payments.

White House, Labor Turn to Retirement Advice “Junk Fees”

Building on its “junk-fee” initiative, the White House today expanded Obama-era “best-interest” standards to retirement advisers to close what it believes are loopholes in the SEC’s jurisdiction under its broker-dealer best-interest standard.

BIS CPMI: Even Sound Stablecoins May Not Be Worth the Effort

A new report from the BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures finds that properly designed and regulated stablecoins could improve cross-border payments by increasing speed and transparency while lowering costs, especially in emerging markets and developing economies.

GAO Vacates Key SEC Crypto Ruling

The GAO today released a report finding that the SEC’s staff accounting bulletin (SAB) 121 is a rule subject to the Congressional Review Act, throwing a key Gensler anti-crypto ruling into immediate ineffectiveness and an uncertain future.

Daily103123.pdf…

12 10, 2023

DAILY101223

Eliza Allen2023-10-12T17:09:17-04:00October 12th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

FSB Calls for More Private Climate Disclosures

Expressing considerable satisfaction with climate-risk disclosure progress, the FSB today released a report finding that all member jurisdictions either have or plan climate disclosure regimes, but there still needs to be greater private-sector self-reporting.

Pressure Builds for Heightened Iran, China Sanctions

Ahead of the hearing we anticipated earlier this week, HFSC Republicans have introduced several bills designed to increase financial pressures on Iran to punish it for the Hamas attack.

EU Regulators Add ESG Considerations to Regulatory, Supervisory Standards

In a bit of gold plating for what it believes to be the public good, the European Banking Authority today issued a report pressing for Pillar 1 capital charges for activities posing ESG risks with particular attention to climate.

OMB Redesigns Federal Rulemaking to Consider, Increase Competition

Acting under the President’s competition executive order (see Client Report MERGER6), OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs yesterday issued new guidance governing federal rulemaking stipulating express assessment of the impact of new or prospective rules to enhance market competition.

CFPB, DoJ Issue Immigration Discrimination Warning

Taking action that may in some cases put lenders in conflict with state law, the CFPB and DoJ stated today that “unnecessary or overbroad reliance” on immigration status in a credit decision may violate the ECOA.

Daily101223.pdf…