#McWilliams – Page 2 – Federal Financial Analytics

3 01, 2022

Daily010322

Arezou Rafikian2023-04-25T15:53:40-04:00January 3rd, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

With McWilliams Out, What’s Next

Although Friday was a federal holiday, FDIC Chair McWilliams chose then to announce her decision to resign effective February 4th. This follows an acrimonious dispute with Democratic board members not only over their approach to bank mergers (see FSM Report MERGER9) but also the overall direction of bank regulation. Although former FDIC Chairman Gruenberg now serves as an FDIC director on an expired term, he will surely assume the chair again pending the President’s decision about whether to appoint Mr. Gruenberg to another full term as chair, should he wish one, and then Senate action to confirm him or another nominee to head the agency. There is currently no independent director on the FDIC board, which will now consist only of Mr. Gruenberg, Acting Comptroller Hsu, and CFPB Director Chopra. Once the new chair is in place, the two open seats on the FDIC board will need to be filled by Republicans or independents.

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22 12, 2021

Daily122221

Arezou Rafikian2023-05-22T13:38:02-04:00December 22nd, 2021|2- Daily Briefing|

Waters Demands McWilliams Justify RFI Blockade
As promised last week, HFSC Chairwoman Waters (D-CA) today formally requested that FDIC Chair McWilliams advise the committee of the legal authority on which she relied to prevent issuance of the merger RFI (see FSM Report MERGER9).

FHFA Strengthens Affordable-Housing Goals
FHFA today finalized the GSEs’ affordable-housing goals, keeping single-family goals as proposed for 2022-2024. Fannie and Freddie both supported the single-family benchmarks, with Fannie in fact supporting even higher ones.

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17 12, 2021

Daily121721

Arezou Rafikian2023-05-22T15:52:04-04:00December 17th, 2021|2- Daily Briefing|

Partisan Battle to Have Lasting FDIC Impact– HFSC Chairwoman Waters (D-CA) reiterated her opposition to FDIC Chair McWilliams’ decision to quash the merger RFI circulated by FDIC Board Democrats (see FSM Report MERGER9), highlighting her recent letter to bank regulators calling for a moratorium on all bank mergers over $100 billion and saying again that these threaten community banks, small businesses, and consumers.

FSOC: Systemic Risk Elevated, Much Work in Progress
FSOC met to consider its annual stability report, which strikingly differs with the Fed’s more sanguine view of systemic risk (see Client Report SYSTEMIC92).

DOJ Redefines M&A Outlook
Even as partisan warfare continues over the Democratic merger RFI (see FSM Report MERGER9), the Department of Justice has irrevocably altered the M&A outlook by reopening its 2020 request for comment (see Client Report MERGER5).

GAO: Alternative Data’s Potential Stymied by Risks, Uncertainties
The GAO issued a report on the potential for alternative data to expand mortgage access for borrowers with minimal credit histories, concluding that current uncertainties and risks limit fair and effective use.

Daily121721.pdf…

16 12, 2021

Daily121621

Arezou Rafikian2023-05-22T16:01:11-04:00December 16th, 2021|2- Daily Briefing|

FHFA Constructs a GSE Stress-Capital buffer
Building on its pending rewrite of GSE-capital rules, FHFA today proposed capital-planning requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac akin in many ways to those governing large banks.

Campaign Advances to Oust McWilliams
Ramping up the FDIC battle, Public Citizen today called on President Biden to oust FDIC Chair McWilliams. Confirming those who have suggested that the fracas is about more than bank M&A, the letter is signed not only by many consumer-advocacy groups, but also by climate-change interest organizations.

Democrats Demand BNPL Review, CFPB Obliges
Acting quickly on Senate Democrats’ request, the CFPB today launched an inquiry into buy now, pay later (BNPL) credit, requesting information from five BNPL credit providers on BNPL risks and benefits.

FSB Says Global NBFIs are Stable, Shrinking vs. Banks
The FSB today released its annual NBFI monitoring report, concluding somewhat puzzlingly that balance-sheet NBFI vulnerability measures appeared broadly stable comparing 2020 and 2019 despite the market volatility at the pandemic’s outset and massive government intervention.

OCC Begins Climate-Risk Regulatory Build-Out
As promised, the OCC today issued draft climate risk-management principles that, when finalized, would guide future agency action starting next year.

Daily121621.pdf…

16 12, 2021

FedFin: Bank Merger Policy

Arezou Rafikian2023-05-22T16:11:59-04:00December 16th, 2021|The Vault|

Released in a highly-controversial fashion (see below) by two Democrats on the FDIC’s board, this RFI posits the need for a significant review of mergers involving insured depository institutions (IDIs) due to many changes in the financial industry and, so it says, the lack of substantive competitive analysis over past decades even of the largest transactions.

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

16 12, 2021

MERGER9

Arezou Rafikian2023-05-22T16:12:11-04:00December 16th, 2021|1- Financial Services Management|

Bank Merger Policy

Released in a highly-controversial fashion (see below) by two Democrats on the FDIC’s board, this RFI posits the need for a significant review of mergers involving insured depository institutions (IDIs) due to many changes in the financial industry and, so it says, the lack of substantive competitive analysis over past decades even of the largest transactions.

MERGER9.pdf…

13 12, 2021

Al121321

Arezou Rafikian2023-05-23T12:39:00-04:00December 13th, 2021|3- This Week|

THE FRACAS AT THE FDIC

As we noted on Thursday, the FDIC’s decision-making process broke wide-open when Directors Gruenberg and Chopra announced that the FDIC had a request for input (RFI) on bank M&A primed to go out for public comment. Indeed, a text of the RFI was posted, but only on the CFPB’s website along with a statement from Mr. Chopra pressing the RFI’s points on grounds that bank mergers are a “privilege, not a right.” But, after just a couple of hours, it became clear that what purported to be an FDIC action wasn’t an FDIC action at least as far as FDIC Chair McWilliams is concerned. A statement from the agency – not directly from her – not only refuted the RFI, but also soundly condemned the process by which it surfaced.

Al121321.pdf…

26 10, 2021

Daily102621

Arezou Rafikian2023-06-05T13:54:59-04:00October 26th, 2021|2- Daily Briefing|

McWilliams Positions Herself as Crypto Liberal Among Agency Skeptics
In remarks posted this morning, FDIC Chair McWilliams provided an update on the inter-agency “crypto sprint.” Ms. McWilliams made it clear that her intent is not to prohibit bank crypto activities but instead to govern them, announcing that a series of policy statements will be issued in “coming months.”

U.S. Adds Voice to Health/Finance G20 Construct
The U.S. Treasury has now joined other G20 finance ministers in calling for a new forum coordinating health and finance policy. The proposal was sparked by an earlier report from former government officials such as Larry Summers based on the need to ensure that all national and global resources are prepositioned to prevent the next pandemic.

Global Regulators Tackle Margining, CCP Resilience
Advancing an FSB priority most recently emphasized in the Board’s forward-looking plan, the Basel Committee, IOSCO, and the Committee on Payment and Market Infrastructures today invited comment on additional margining standards addressing problems identified in the March 2020 COVID crisis.

House Advances Open-Source Regulatory Data
The House late yesterday passed 400-19 the Financial Transparency Act (H.R. 2989), legislation reintroduced by Reps. Maloney (D-NY) and McHenry (R-NC) requiring the federal financial regulatory agencies to adopt data collection-and-distribution standards on format, searchability, and transparency.

OCC Stands Firm on LIBOR Transition, Supervisory Priorities
In remarks generally focused on LIBOR transition, Acting Comptroller Hsu today emphasized that the U.S. agencies fully intend to end LIBOR and “zombie LIBOR” as of year-end and that even banks that think …

21 10, 2021

Daily102121

Arezou Rafikian2023-06-05T15:25:18-04:00October 21st, 2021|2- Daily Briefing|

BIS Advances Push for Central Bank Green Investment
The BIS today announced a new program channeling central-bank funds to green bonds in the Asia-Pacific region. Eligible bonds will be issued by sovereigns, supranational, and corporates that comply with relevant anti-greenwashing standards. While limited, this program adds to growing global pressure for “green” central-bank investments, advancing an initial design for doing so in a 2020 BIS policy paper on green finance, supervision, and regulation (see Client Report GREEN).

CFPB Plows New Path into Bigtech, Competition Policy
With a newly-confirmed director with long experience battling bigtech, the CFPB today issued orders requiring large tech companies operating payments systems to turn over information on their payments products, business plans, and practices. Orders have initially been sent to Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, PayPal, and Square, but the Bureau is also studying Alipay and WeChat Pay.

Fed Hops To After Latest Ethics Revelation
Following a still more embarrassing story about Fed trading in today’s New York Times, the FRB this afternoon announced conclusion of a “comprehensive review” and new senior-officer trading restrictions. These bar holding individual securities, restrict active trading, and increase reporting requirements.

FSOC Adopts Tough-Talk, Cautious-Action Climate Plan
FSOC today approved the report on climate-related financial risk required by President Biden’s Executive Order (see FSM Report GREEN8) adopting the cautious, disclosure-focused framework we anticipated when the executive order was issued.

Daily102121.pdf…

27 08, 2021

Daily082721

Arezou Rafikian2024-03-13T15:45:21-04:00August 27th, 2021|2- Daily Briefing|

McWilliams’ Innovation Push Silent on Controversial Charters
In remarks today, FDIC Chair McWilliams reiterated her commitment to innovation but outlined steps to enhance it only in areas such as tech sprints.

Gensler Targets Conflicts, Investment Advice in Anti-Gamification Push
Following SEC Chairman Gensler’s announcement of an upcoming consultation on broker and investment-adviser digital-engagement practices (DEPs) earlier this week, the SEC today issued an RFI on the use of DEPs—including predictive data analytics, differential marketing, and behavioral prompts (e.g., gamification).

Daily082721.pdf…