#justice department – Page 2 – Federal Financial Analytics

15 12, 2023

DAILY121523

Eliza Allen2023-12-15T17:31:25-05:00December 15th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Crypto Measures Await Next Session

As anticipated, HFSC Chair McHenry (R-NC) was able to fend off concerted efforts by Sens. Brown (D-OH) and Warren (D-MA) to add the Warren-Marshall crypto bill to the National Defense Authorization Act.

FSOC to Target Hedge Funds, Nonbank Mortgage Companies

The readout from Treasury on yesterday’s FSOC meeting provides insight into the Council’s executive session suggesting significant near-term systemic action regarding hedge funds.

FSB Plans Broad Rewrite of Public Backstops, GSIFI Resolvability, Operational Readiness

The FSB’s 2023 Resolution Report today advises banks and public sector authorities to be prepared to access public sector funding in resolution, with the Board planning to review whether existing public sector backstops are adequate to meet potential failure scenarios.

Brown Renews Bipartisan Quest to Constrain Nonbank Banks

Advancing the big-tech concerns he most recently voiced before GSIB CEOs (see Client Report GSIB23), Senate Banking Chairman Brown (D-OH) has introduced S. 3538, bipartisan legislation to impose bank regulation on non-bank parent companies of insured depository institutions.

DOJ Targets Fraudulent Microtransactions

Cracking down on unauthorized bank account charges, the DOJ today announced multiple actions against “sham” companies alleged to have used misrepresentations or unauthorized charges to steal money from consumers’ financial accounts.

CRS Warns Credit Card Act Could Result In Risky Retailer Payment Networks

The CRS this week issued a report analyzing the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Competition Act, S.1838 (see FSM Report INTERCHANGE10), projecting that fee caps will have a greater impact on transaction fees than competition, with …

1 11, 2023

DAILY110123

Eliza Allen2023-11-01T16:52:56-04:00November 1st, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Vance, GOP Seek to Reverse New Immigration Credit Ruling

Following a joint CFPB-DOJ statement asserting that financial institutions’ “unnecessary or overbroad reliance” on immigration status in a credit decision may violate the ECOA, Sen. Vance (R-OH) along with all Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee today sent a scathing letter to CFPB Director Chopra and DOJ AG Garland urging the regulators to retract it on legal and financial stability grounds.

Congress Takes on SEC Custody Construct

Members of Congress are mobilizing against the SEC’s custody proposal (see FSM Report CUSTODY5) following yesterday’s block-buster GAO ruling against the SEC’s SAB 121 ruling, a ruling with considerable impact also in the broader custody rewrite. Republicans responded to the GAO with anticipated demands for rapid Congressional Review Act repeal.

Powell Pledges Fed Capital Consensus

In the midst of much monetary-policy discussion today, Chair Powell now said more publicly that the Fed will work towards consensus on controversial capital rules. Rep. Barr (R-KY) previously said Mr. Powell assured him that the final rule will reflect the Board of Governors as a whole, encouraging Rep. Barr and others that Vice Chair Barr will need to modulate some of the proposal’s most controversial provisions.

Daily110123.pdf…

26 10, 2023

DAILY102623

Eliza Allen2023-10-26T16:48:48-04:00October 26th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Senate Banking Focuses on Rapid-Fire Administration Action to Sanction Iran, Curb Hamas, Govern Crypto

Today’s Senate Banking Hearing on Illicit Finance and Terrorism showcased continued bipartisan support for stronger Iranian sanctions as well as for secondary sanctions on traditional financial institutions and cryptoasset firms facilitating terrorism. In addition to highlighting their bipartisan measure targeting DeFi-related money laundering and sanctions evasion, Sens. Reed (D-RI) and Warner (D-VA) noted that they are working on a bill that would apply secondary sanctions on banks and DeFi entities that transact with foreign parties that facilitate terrorist financing.

Bipartisan Small-Business Leadership Opens New End-Game Front

Opening a new front of Congressional concern about the capital proposal’s credit impacts, House Small Business Economic Growth Subcommittee Chairman Meuser (R-PA) along with Ranking Member Landsman (D-OH) and two others today sent a letter to FRB Chairman Powell and Vice Chair Barr “imploring” them to commission a comprehensive review of the capital proposal’s effects on small business lending. They also ask that all the agencies counteract any negative repercussions of the proposal, noting that this might entail significantly easing capital requirements.

Daily102623.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…

5 10, 2023

DAILY100523

Eliza Allen2023-10-05T16:36:40-04:00October 5th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Kanter, Khan Mount Stout Defense of Draft Merger Guidelines

FTC Chair Khan and DOJ Assistant AG Kanter today defended the agencies’ draft merger guidelines (see FSM Report MERGER12) on grounds that they are faithful to congressional intent, reflect core legal principles, are more accessible and easier to apply, and better reflect the modern competitive landscape.

Basel Plans NBFI Ops-Risk Supervisory Standards, Continuing Review of Bank Supervision, New Disclosures

The Basel Committee today released its long-awaited report on 2023 vulnerabilities, deciding based on it to prioritize new supervisory approaches and additional analytical tools.

Bipartisan Bill Provides Transaction Account Deposit Insurance

Following Chairman Gruenberg’s remarks yesterday highlighting targeted deposit insurance reform, Sens. Manchin (D-WV), Braun (R-SD), and Hickenlooper (D-CO) yesterday introduced legislation to reinstate the Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program, expanding deposit insurance to non-interest bearing transaction accounts up to $10 million.

FDIC Proposes Public-Good Policy for IDI Corporate Governance

The FDIC today announced the Board’s 3-2 approval of an NPR establishing guidelines on corporate governance and risk management for FDIC-supervised IDIs with over $10 billion in assets.

Daily100523.pdf…

9 08, 2023

DAILY080923

Eliza Allen2023-08-09T16:35:20-04:00August 9th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Brown, Other Senate Dems Demand Fast Action on Fed Merger Policy Rewrite

Building on Sen. Warren’s (D-MA) longstanding Fed criticism, Chairman Brown (D-OH) along with Sens. Warren, Reed (D-RI), and Fetterman (D-PA) today directly demanded a substantive and speedy rewrite of Fed merger policy to ensure that statutory requirements related to financial-stability impact are met. The letter not only criticizes past mergers Sen. Warren has long said are “rubber-stamped” and JPMorgan’s acquisition of First Republic, but also cites the Fed’s decision to allow UBS to acquire Credit Suisse.

Waters Doubles Down On Opposition To GOP Stablecoin Bill

In stark contrast to HFSC Chairman McHenry’s (R-NC) comments praising PayPal’s new payment stablecoin, Ranking Member Waters (D-CA) today sharply criticized the product and the risks its poses given that the HFSC GOP has advanced a bill she thinks both highly problematic and unlikely to be enacted.

Daily080923.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 …

25 07, 2023

FedFin Analysis: U.S. Merger Policy

Arezou Rafikian2023-07-25T17:18:51-04:00July 25th, 2023|The Vault|

Building on a request for comment, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have now proposed specific revisions to U.S. merger policy that significantly redirect the manner in which M&A transactions – even if only for minority positions – will be considered. Although this is only a draft statement, it tracks much of what President Biden laid out in his 2021 executive order on U.S. competition policy and actions since then by the DOJ and the FTC. As a result, the guidelines are more of a roadmap providing clarity than a new approach unless the final version differs substantively in any major way or future Administrations adopt a different policy. Near-term U.S. merger policy makes it considerably more difficult to finalize horizontal, vertical, and even minority holdings, a challenge likely to be particularly acute in U.S. financial services where government agencies believe there is …

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

24 07, 2023

MERGER12

Eliza Allen2023-07-24T17:03:59-04:00July 24th, 2023|1- Financial Services Management|

U.S. Merger Policy

Building on a request for comment, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have now proposed specific revisions to U.S. merger policy that significantly redirect the manner in which M&A transactions – even if only for minority positions – will be considered. Although this is only a draft statement, it tracks much of what President Biden laid out in his 2021 executive order on U.S. competition policy and actions since then by the DOJ and the FTC. As a result, the guidelines are more of a roadmap providing clarity than a new approach unless the final version differs substantively in any major way or future Administrations adopt a different policy. Near-term U.S. merger policy makes it considerably more difficult to finalize horizontal, vertical, and even minority holdings, a challenge likely to be particularly acute in U.S. financial services where government agencies believe there is undue concentration in banking, payment, private-equity, and other sectors. The clarity and specifics of the guidelines will give firms a clearer understanding of obstacles to possible transactions as well as risks to those that have been previously consummated. However, the guidelines are statements of agency policy based on their read of law, not a binding legal action. As a result, merger participants who believe that their transactions were unduly denied and companies ordered to shed certain operations may still seek legal redress in the courts.

MERGER12.pdf…

19 07, 2023

DAILY071923

Eliza Allen2023-07-19T16:57:05-04:00July 19th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

FTC/DOJ Propose Sweeping M&A Rewrite

Following an extensive inquiry into a new U.S. merger construct, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission today released a draft formal policy statement that would codify issues previously raised in areas such as a transaction’s implications for workers.

White House Leaves Bank “Junk Fee” Attack As Is

Acting on President Biden’s competition executive order (see Client Report MERGER6), the White House today announced a slate of actions aimed at lowering consumer costs and promoting competition.

Bipartisan Senators Introduce New DeFi-AML/Sanctions Framework

Senator Reed (D-RI) yesterday introduced legislation along with Sens. Warner (D-VA), Rounds (R-SD), and Romney (R-UT) targeting DeFi-related money laundering and sanctions evasion.

Dems Reintroduce Bill Requiring Instant Consumer Deposit Access

Sens. Van Hollen (D-MD) and Warren (D-MA) and Reps. Pressley (D-MA) and Lynch (D-MA) have reintroduced the Payments Modernization Act, which requires financial institutions to recognize deposited funds in real-time and clarifies the moot point of whether the Fed has existing authority to build a real-time payments system.

Daily071923.pdf…