#ESG – Page 3 – Federal Financial Analytics

3 02, 2023

DAILY020323

Eliza Allen2023-02-03T16:59:55-05:00February 3rd, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

House GOP Bill Sanctions Digital Yuan

Ahead of a major HFSC anti-China push next week, Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions Luetkemeyer (R-MO) today introduced H.R. 804 to bar money servicing businesses from engaging in any transaction involving Chinese CBDC.

HFSC Plans Wide-Ranging China Attack

Emphasizing the priority Republicans have placed on U.S.-China policy, HFSC’s staff memo for Tuesday’s full committee hearing details numerous initiatives the panel may advance to isolate China and the Communist Party from the U.S. and global financial system.

HFSC Anti-Woke Group Targets SEC, Proxy Voting

Following his promise to go after “woke” policies during the HFSC organizational meeting, Chairman McHenry (R-NC) today announced the formation of a Republican ESG working group. It has no legislative jurisdiction and will instead combat the “far-left” influence over capital markets by addressing SEC regulatory “overreach,” reinforcing the materiality standard for disclosures, and preventing the misuse of the proxy process.

Daily020323.pdf…

30 01, 2023

DAILY013023

Eliza Allen2023-01-30T16:59:06-05:00January 30th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

FDIC Sets New Comment Deadline For Advertising NPR

The FDIC today extended the comment deadline for its NPR modernizing restrictions on the agency’s official sign and logo, advertising statement, and misrepresentations of deposit insurance coverage by 45 days until April 7.

Banking Agencies Report No Material Differences in Capital, Accounting Rules

Ahead of efforts later this winter to rewrite large-bank capital standards, the banking agencies today submitted their annual report to HFSC and Senate Banking assessing the differences between the agencies’ accounting and capital standards.

HFSC Lays Out Initial Action Plan

HFSC Chairman McHenry (R-NC) is moving forward, today announcing plans for a meeting on Wednesday to set the committees’ rules and near-term oversight priorities.

Controversial CFPB Initiatives Advance

The Federal Register today includes the CFPB’s nonbank enforcement action registry proposal as well as its circular regarding negative option marketing practices.

FHA Expands Loan-Mod Options, Incentives

The FHA today announced it will extend incentive payments to mortgage servicers that complete COVID-Recovery loss-mitigation options, also releasing several other changes to help struggling borrowers avoid foreclosures regardless of the nature of repayment hardship.

Daily013023.pdf…

30 01, 2023

Karen Petrou: M&Ms, McHenry, and the Making of Financial Policy

Arezou Rafikian2023-01-30T11:28:41-05:00January 30th, 2023|The Vault|

It’s a sad commentary on American politics to observe, as I feel we must, that the experienced chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry, has followed M&M’s “spokescandies” as a target of Tucker Carlson’s bilious, yet widely-watched, wrath. The fundamental frivolity of this contrast is self-evident, but that has yet to dampen the credibility of this combustible commentator with his super conservative acolytes. That Mr. Carlson matters so much to public discourse is deeply distressing given some of his other targets – Nancy Pelosi’s husband after a brutal attack is only one that comes immediately to mind. Unlike him and many other Carlson targets, Mr. McHenry can more than take care of himself. Still, going after him means super-conservatives will blast any Member or measure that falls short of purity on their rightward-loaded scale. Since nothing these folks like can be enacted into law, all this does is reduce the hopeful odds we cast earlier this year for constructive financial-policy legislation. Too bad – the nation could use some.

The nub of the accusation lies in his chairman’s decision to leave the word “inclusive” in the name of one of his panel’s revamped subcommittees. Clearly, the concept of inclusion has become accursed because Democrats often used it in concert with what might seem an equally innocuous word: diversity. Democrats did use diversity and inclusion demands to press for racial, gender, and sexual-orientation equity in ways that rubbed many republicans raw, but the idea of inclusion is fundamental to …

30 01, 2023

M013023

Eliza Allen2023-01-30T11:28:34-05:00January 30th, 2023|6- Client Memo|

M&Ms, McHenry, and the Making of Financial Policy

It’s a sad commentary on American politics to observe, as I feel we must, that the experienced chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry, has followed M&M’s “spokescandies” as a target of Tucker Carlson’s bilious, yet widely-watched, wrath. The fundamental frivolity of this contrast is self-evident, but that has yet to dampen the credibility of this combustible commentator with his super conservative acolytes. That Mr. Carlson matters so much to public discourse is deeply distressing given some of his other targets – Nancy Pelosi’s husband after a brutal attack is only one that comes immediately to mind. Unlike him and many other Carlson targets, Mr. McHenry can more than take care of himself. Still, going after him means super-conservatives will blast any Member or measure that falls short of purity on their rightward-loaded scale. Since nothing these folks like can be enacted into law, all this does is reduce the hopeful odds we cast earlier this year for constructive financial-policy legislation. Too bad – the nation could use some.

m013023.pdf…

22 12, 2022

DAILY122222

Eliza Allen2022-12-22T16:43:24-05:00December 22nd, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

Waters Blasts ICE/BKI Merger

Although HFSC Chair Waters (D-CA) frequently opposes large-bank mergers, her stand today against the ICE/Black Knight deal is the first time we can recall her taking a public stand on a transaction before the Federal Trade Commission (outside HFSC’s jurisdiction).

Toomey Sets Agenda for GOP Fed Reform

Among his parting shots, Senate Banking Ranking Member Toomey (R-PA) yesterday introduced legislation to reform the Federal Reserve System.

Toomey Also Tries to Set Stablecoin Agenda

In another effort to set the terms of debate before he departs, Senate Banking Ranking Member Toomey (R-PA) also introduced a new version of his initial stablecoin legislation (see FSM Report CRYPTO27).

Warren Doubts Zelle’s Fraud Policy Changes

Continuing her campaign against Zelle fraud, Sen. Warren (D-MA) today sent a letter to the CEO of Zelle’s parent company demanding a briefing on pending efforts to compensate consumers for fraudulent transfers.

CFPB Cites ARM Risks, Rewards

The CFPB today issued a consumer alert describing the risks associated with various mortgage products during a period of rising interest rates.

Project Hamilton Ducks CBDC-Feasibility Decision

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston today announced the completion of its Project Hamilton work with MIT on a U.S. CBDC.

Fed to Reconsider Key Bank-Control Criteria

Although the banking agencies today reiterated that their policy is not generally to require reporting of loans to potentially controlling principal-fund complexes or banks that meet passivity requirements, the Fed will now reconsider relevant rules in this sector.

Daily122222.pdf…

6 12, 2022

DAILY120622

Eliza Allen2022-12-06T16:40:03-05:00December 6th, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

FSB Again Ratifies Focus on Crypto, Climate, Macro Risks

Following its meeting today, the FSB Plenary announced 2023 priorities to be finalized in January. Focus will center on heightened monitoring of financial stability risks, enhanced NBFI and CCP resilience, work on the global crypto regulatory framework, cross-border payments reform, cyber and operational resilience, and financial risks from climate change.

FinCEN Targets De-Risking Compliance

Pointing to possible enforcement actions, Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg today noted FinCEN concerns with the extent to which institutions apply a rules-based approach to de-risking rather than a risk-based one, leaving it vulnerable to fast-changing risks and without access to valuable suspicious activity information.

Warren, GOP Senators Put Silvergate On FTX Hotseat

Reflecting at least some bipartisan agreement on the need for new crypto standards, Sens. Warren (D-MA), Kennedy (R-LA), and Marshall (R-KS) late yesterday sent a letter to the CEO of Silvergate Bank demanding detailed information regarding its relationship with FTX and FTX affiliates.

GOP Threatens Woke Asset Managers With BHC Designation

The Senate Banking GOP report today on ESG asset management contains an interesting aside about the extent to which passive ownership of banking organizations could make the three largest asset managers de facto BHCs.

Brown Fires First Shot in 2023 ILC Wars

Putting down a market for the next Congress, Senate Banking Chairman Brown and two Democratic colleagues today introduced their bill end bar ILC charters for nonbank parents.

Daily120622.pdf…

29 07, 2022

DAILY072922

Eliza Allen2023-01-04T13:45:23-05:00July 29th, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

Credit-Card Routing Expansion Introduced, Faces Long Odds

As anticipated, Sens. Marshall (R-KS) and Durbin (D-IL) have introduced S. 4674, legislation to extend routing-system requirements to credit cards.

FDIC, Fed Crack Down on IDIs Working with Crypto Companies

In addition to joining the Fed in sending a stern warning to Voyager about misrepresenting FDIC insurance, the FDIC today issued an advisory instructing IDIs as to how best to partner with crypto companies to prevent future misunderstanding and ensure compliance with the agency’s new rule (see FSM Report DEPOSITINSURANCE113).

BIS Lays Out Risks to Central Bank Green Assets

The BIS Consultative Group on Risk Management today released a report detailing the data and methodological challenges faced by central banks implementing climate risk into their reserve-management frameworks.

FTC Takes on Payment Processing

The FTC today unanimously reached a settlement with the nation’s largest payment processor, First American, related to what some call “trick-and-trap” practices.

BIS Advances Cross-Border PVP Payment Options

Hoping to speed the introduction of payment versus payment (PvP) systems to reduce frictions in cross-border payments, the BIS today released a call for information that details previous PvP proposals and asks for comment on them.

HFSC Republicans Expand CFPB Attack to State-AG Partnerships

Continuing their campaign against CFPB Director Chopra, HFSC Republicans have sent him a letter accusing the Bureau of intimidating companies by pursuing duplicative enforcement actions with state regulators.

Daily072922.pdf…

1 06, 2022

DAILY060122

Eliza Allen2023-02-21T12:47:30-05:00June 1st, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

IMF Charts USD Decline

The IMF today published a blog in its Chart-of-the-Week series portraying the declining status of the US dollar as the global reserve currency. As noted last week (see Client Report CBDC13), the dollar’s dominance is a core Congressional and FRB criterion when considering the need for a U.S. CBDC and this report may increase calls by some in Congress for more rapid action (see FSM Report CBDC4). The post highlights the dollar’s dip below 59 percent of global foreign-exchange reserves in the final quarter of 2021, but also states that the euro, yen, and pound have not replaced it, nor has the renminbi, which now accounts for only a quarter of the shift from the dollar in recent years due in part to Russia’s holding of nearly a third of global renminbi reserves.

IMF Presses Central Banks to Go Green

A senior IMF advisor, Tobias Adrian, today argued that central banks should include sustainability considerations not only in their financial-stability and monetary-policy analyses, but also in their balance sheets. This follows comments earlier today from President Lagarde that the ECB has an “open mind” about using the central bank’s lending facilities to foster the transition to carbon neutrality.

Daily060122.pdf…

21 04, 2022

GSE-042122

Eliza Allen2023-03-02T10:38:39-05:00April 21st, 2022|4- GSE Activity Report|

Risk-On CRT for a Risk-Off Market?

In our last CRT analysis, we looked at transaction viability under the Basel IV rewrite set for rapid release once key Fed nominees are finally confirmed. Now, we turn to another viability consideration: the extent to which CRT can thrive in spite of these capital obstacles and accomplish a vital purpose spelled out in a recent Urban Institute report: enhance equitable finance as FHFA demands. In short, we hope so, but it won’t be easy.

GSE-042122.pdf…

21 04, 2022

FedFin: Risk-On CRT for a Risk-Off Market?

Arezou Rafikian2023-03-02T10:38:46-05:00April 21st, 2022|The Vault|

In our last CRT analysis, we looked at transaction viability under the Basel IV rewrite set for rapid release once key Fed nominees are finally confirmed. Now, we turn to another viability consideration: the extent to which CRT can thrive in spite of these capital obstacles and accomplish a vital purpose spelled out in a recent Urban Institute report: enhance equitable finance as FHFA demands. In short, we hope so, but it won’t be easy.

The full report is available to subscription clients. To find out how you can sign up for the service, click here.…