#securities

12 01, 2024

DAILY011224

2024-01-12T15:31:11-05:00January 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

2 01, 2024

AI4

2024-01-02T10:14:03-05:00January 2nd, 2024|1- Financial Services Management|

AI Financial Risk, Rules

Bipartisan Senate legislation has been introduced to press FSOC to do more than highlight artificial intelligence (AI) as a potential threat to financial stability.  The measure instead requires the Council to undertake a rapid study of AI’s financial stability risk and report to Congress on conclusions that must then be advanced through FSOC designation and federal-agency action.  The bill also gives the SEC more authority to address at least some of the risks its chairman has identified that may be posed by predictive analytics, including AI.  New AI-related stress testing would also be likely.

AI4.pdf

16 11, 2023

DAILY111623

2023-11-16T16:40:39-05:00November 16th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Global Supervisors Press Direct, Indirect CSP Oversight

Global financial supervisors today highlighted cloud-service provider systemic risk, pointing to an issue also of longstanding FSOC concern.

Barr Takes Surprising AOCI Turn

In remarks today focused on Treasury-market risk, FRB Vice Chair Barr also surprisingly said that “most banks” do not need to report unrealized securities gains and losses in capital although supervisors are stepping up surveillance in this area.

McHenry Escalates FDIC Revelations to Official Probe

Following bipartisan outrage regarding the FDIC’s harassment scandal at Senate Banking and HFSC hearings this week, HFSC Chairman McHenry (R-NC) today announced that his Committee will investigate the FDIC as well as Chairman Gruenberg for alleged misconduct.

Global Regulators Set Crypto Custody Standards

IOSCO today issued final standards for cryptoassets in securities markets, codifying its prior stand that protections such as those against conflicts of interest and embedded vertical-integration risks should be managed for cryptoassets in the same manner regulators and supervisors address them in fiat-asset transactions.

Daily111623.pdf

15 11, 2023

REFORM230

2023-11-15T15:58:45-05:00November 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 …

11 08, 2023

Al081423

2023-08-11T16:27:33-04:00August 11th, 2023|3- This Week|

The Capital Construct Continued

Even as we stay on watch for new regional-bank resolution rules, and keep you posted on some high-impact events (see below), we’ve been plowing through hundreds of pages of regulatory-capital rewrites.  Last week, we built on our in-depth analyses of the overall capital framework (see FSM Report CAPITAL230) and the new approach to credit risk (see FSM Report CAPITAL231) with several new in-depth assessments.

Al081423.pdf

8 08, 2023

FedFin on: Say It’s Simple

2023-08-09T14:19:41-04:00August 8th, 2023|The Vault|

Our most recent analysis of the inter-agency capital proposal focuses on significant changes to the rules for securitization and credit-risk transfer positions. In short, super-traditional securitizations have an easier path to the secondary market, but GSEs still beat banks. Complex ABS face often-formidable obstacles, as does CRT given or taken by banks.

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

8 08, 2023

GSE-080823

2023-08-08T13:46:46-04:00August 8th, 2023|4- GSE Activity Report|

Say It’s Simple

Our most recent analysis of the inter-agency capital proposal focuses on significant changes to the rules for securitization and credit-risk transfer positions.  In short, super-traditional securitizations have an easier path to the secondary market, but GSEs still beat banks.  Complex ABS face often-formidable obstacles, as does CRT given or taken by banks.

GSE080823.pdf

8 08, 2023

FedFin on: Equity and Securitization Capital Standards

2023-08-08T13:44:33-04:00August 8th, 2023|The Vault|

Based on our analysis of the inter-agency capital proposal’s framework and its credit-risk provisions, FedFin turns now to the proposed approach to equities as well as to that for securitization exposures (i.e., those that are tranched rather than simple secondary-market issuances of packages of loans or other assets backed as needed by a single credit enhancement). The proposal in some cases liberalizes the current, “general” standardized approach (SA), but more often toughens it to account for elimination of the advanced approach…

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

8 08, 2023

CAPITAL232

2023-08-08T10:52:38-04:00August 8th, 2023|1- Financial Services Management|

Equity and Securitization Capital Standards

Based on our analysis of the inter-agency capital proposal’s framework and its credit-risk provisions, FedFin turns now to the proposed approach to equities as well as to that for securitization exposures (i.e., those that are tranched rather than simple secondary-market issuances of packages of loans or other assets backed as needed by a single credit enhancement).  The proposal in some cases liberalizes the current, “general” standardized approach (SA), but more often toughens it to account for elimination of the advanced approach.  This will have particular bearing on significant aspects of category III and IV bank activities (e.g., credit-card securitizations, MMF funding), but all covered banking organizations will see significant capital increases as many activities now permitted within the banking book would need to move to the trading book under the new market-risk rules.  Securitization-related capital standards are generally brought closer to those for underlying assets in simple securitizations, giving banks more balance-sheet flexibility and credit-risk mitigation opportunities if investors accept these structures.  The treatment of equity exposures is generally tightened, sometimes so much as to effectively prohibit certain activities – e.g., non-traditional equity investments in covered funds and BHC subsidiaries.  The new treatment of investment funds will also have significant implications for banks that fund themselves through prime MMFs or sponsor investment funds through equity positions.

CAPITAL232.pdf

4 08, 2023

DAILY080423

2023-08-04T16:31:03-04:00August 4th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Fed Study: GSIB Leverage Ratios No Cause of Treasury-Market Stress

As regulators prepare to extend the supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) to all large banks (see FSM Report CAPITAL230), a new Fed staff research note concludes that the higher leverage ratio did not undermine dealer-bank capacity.

Warren, Dems Use North Korea Case to Press Crypto AML/Sanctions Bill

Ahead of a hard push next month to add crypto AML and sanction standards to the defense authorization, Sens. Warren (D-MA), Van Hollen (D-MD), and Kaine (D-VA) sent a letter to Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Nelson and National Security Advisor Sullivan calling on the Administration to crack down on North Korea’s illicit crypto activity.

Warren, Porter Demand Stricter FDIC Crackdown on Uninsured Deposit Underreporting

Following last week’s FDIC financial institutions letter highlighting that some banks incorrectly estimated uninsured deposits in their Call Reports, Sen. Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Porter (D-CA) late yesterday sent a letter to FDIC Chairman Gruenberg taking serious issue with the agency’s “feeble” response.

Daily080423.pdf

Go to Top