#Himes – Federal Financial Analytics

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…

26 07, 2023

DAILY072623

Eliza Allen2023-07-26T16:37:20-04:00July 26th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Senate Democrats Stand Firm On “Junk Fee” Campaign

Today’s lightly-attended Senate Banking Financial Institutions Subcommittee hearing on banking and consumer fees showcased broad Democratic alignment with the Administration’s “junk fees” campaign and persistent Republican aversion to this effort as well as to the CFPB.

CFPB Flags UDAAP, Other Problematic Practices for Enforcement

The CFPB’s latest supervisory report not only details recent actions and priorities, but also expressly stipulates that certain activities identified in the course of supervision that have yet to be addressed by formal agency action are UDAAP.

SEC Targets AI Advice

Acting as anticipated following Gary Gensler’s fiery talk last week about AI risk, the SEC today voted 3-2 to propose new rules curtailing what it believes to be broker dealer and investment-adviser conflicts of interest due to predictive analytics.

Crypto-Jurisdiction Bill to Advance; Stablecoin Measure Likely to do so Tomorrow

Chairman McHenry (R-NC) and Ranking Member Waters (D-CA) announced at today’s HFSC markup that bipartisan negotiations on the committee’s stablecoin bill continue and despite the absence of any breakthrough.

DOJ Officials Seeks Merger Answers

In remarks today, Policy Director David Lawrence of DOJ’s Antitrust Division went beyond new, draft DOJ/FTC merger guidelines (see FSM Report MERGER12) to lay out questions on which the agencies particularly seek answers.

Powell Stresses Bank Discount Window Readiness

FRB Chairman Powell’s press conference today focused almost entirely on monetary policy, but the chair agreed that the discount window performed badly during the recent crisis and that banks need to …

17 07, 2023

DAILY071723

Eliza Allen2023-07-17T16:58:11-04:00July 17th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

HFSC to Tackle FinCen, Sanctions

The HFSC memo on the National Security Subcommittee’s Tuesday hearing makes it clear that Republicans have not wavered in their criticism of FinCEN’s beneficial-ownership standards (see FSM Report AML134). As before, the GOP’s principal concern is small-business burden, with bills to be considered including H.R. 4035 by Chair McHenry (R-NC) extending the small-business compliance deadline and a bill by Rep. Nunn (R-IA) to ensure at least a two-year compliance period.

Global Regulators Strengthen Crypto, Stablecoin Standards

The FSB today finalized its “same-activity/same-rule” standards for cryptoassets and stablecoins (see FSM Report CRYPTO34). We will soon provide clients with an in-depth analysis of the recommendations, which are effective immediately.

Gensler Sounds AI Systemic Alarm

In remarks today, SEC Chairman Gensler echoed his longstanding concern about predictive analytics and AI-related problems recently highlighted by CFPB Director Chopra and the banking agencies. He also cautions public issuers to ensure their AI-related disclosures are accurate, noting that AI-spawned market fraud is still fraud the SEC will vigorously pursue.

Daily071723.pdf…

22 06, 2022

DAILY062222

Eliza Allen2023-01-25T15:55:01-05:00June 22nd, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

Treasury Issues Stern Sanctions Warning to Foreign Banks

In remarks today to UAE bankers, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo warned that foreign financial institutions are subject to possible sanction if transactions touch sanctioned entities via any U.S.-domiciled point.

CFBP Follows Threats with Credit-Card Action Plan

Consistent with its promises as recently as last week, the CFPB today released an ANPR examining ways to govern what it calls excessive late fees charged by credit-card issuers and announced broader initiatives in this sector.

CBDC Authorizing Legislation Takes Shape

Building on his HFSC subcommittee’s CBDC hearing record (see Client Report CBDC13), Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) today released a white paper outlining legislation he plans to advance to authorize and define CBDC for the United States.

House Set to Report Revised ILC Reform Bill

As anticipated, HFSC seems likely to report H.R. 5912, ILC-reform legislation introduced by Rep. Chuy García (D-IL) (see FSM Report ILC13). The measure subjects ILCs to bank regulation, rolling back the FDIC’s rule during the Trump Administration providing these charters with unique regulatory advantages (see FSM Report ILC15).

Daily062222.pdf…