#SIFI – Federal Financial Analytics

17 04, 2024

DAILY041724

Eliza Allen2024-04-17T17:36:07-04:00April 17th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

Global Regulators Tackle NBFI Margining, Collateral Transformation

As it has long promised, the FSB today issued a consultation on standards designed to buttress derivatives, commodity, and securities-financing markets under stress through more stringent margining and collateral requirements.

Basel Head Says Go Slow re AI Risk, Supervisory Models

Basel’s Secretary General, Pablo Hernández de Cos, today focused on AI’s risk-reward profile in the banking sector, concluding that it raises a series of profound questions global regulators must work cooperatively to address.

Lummis, Gillibrand Begin Senate Stablecoin Debate

As long anticipated, Sens. Lummis (R-WY) and Gillibrand (D-NY) today introduced a significantly revised version of their 2022 Bill (see FSM Report CRYPTO28) laying out U.S. stablecoin standards.

FIO Subpoena Power Faces Rollback

At HFSC’s mark-up today, the committee began with Rep. Fitzgerald’s (R-WI) Insurance Data Protection Act, H.R. 5335, which would repeal the Federal Insurance Office’s authority to subpoena insurance companies for data collection.

HFSC Likely to Pass RegTech Bill

At HFSC’s extended mark-up today, the committee turned to H.R. 7437, a bipartisan bill that would require federal banking regulators to regularly review and report to Congress on their use of technology to ensure they’re equipped to address threats to the financial system.

HFSC Set to Pass AOCI Recognition, Systemic-Risk Designation Study Measures

Continuing our coverage of today’s mark-up, HFSC was generally supportive of the two bills on the agenda from Democrats, H.R. 4206 from Rep. Sherman (D-CA) requiring large banks with available for sale securities to mark to market …

25 03, 2024

DAILY032524

Eliza Allen2024-03-25T16:46:05-04:00March 25th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

House GOP Resolution Challenges FSOC Designation Guidance

HFSC Vice-Chairman Hill (R-AR) introduced H.J. Res 120 on Friday to disapprove of FSOC’s guidance on nonbank financial company systemic designations (see FSM Report SIFI36). The CRA resolution follows GOP criticism of the guidance at recent hearings (see Client Report FSOC30) and S.3601 from Sens. Rounds (R-SD) and Sinema (I-AZ), which would require FSOC to consider “alternative approaches” prior to systemic designation.

Hsu, Cook Warn Banks re AI Fair-Lending Risk

Acting Comptroller Hsu today stressed the importance that banks understand their use cases for AI and utilize it in a controlled manner, reiterating longstanding agency concerns about bad learning models leading to credit discrimination (see FSM Report AI). FRB Gov. Cook today also noted that, while the FRB cannot address inequality within its mandate, it can and is looking to ensure that AI use does not lead to unfair lending.

Daily032524.pdf…

18 01, 2024

DAILY011824

Eliza Allen2024-01-18T16:58:16-05:00January 18th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

Basel Head Backs U.S. End-Game

In an FT interview today, the Basel Committee’s chair, Pablo Hernández de Cos, unsurprisingly endorsed the U.S. end-game proposal, indirectly but firmly rebutting assertions that it is at variance with global norms.

The Shape of Liquidity Rules to Come

Previewing the construct of what may soon be the anticipated inter-agency proposal addressing liquidity-risk lessons-learned, Acting Comptroller Hsu today argued that the liquidity coverage ratio’s treatment of retail depositors (see FSM Report LIQUIDITY17) does not address likely depositor herding as they run for the exit.

Rounds, Sinema Press for SIFI-Designation Rollback

Senate Banking Committee Member Rounds (R-SD) alongside Sen. Sinema (I-AZ) introduced S.3601, legislation to codify 2019 standards (see FSM report SIFI35) adding significantly more obstacles to systemic designation compared to FSOC’s new approach (see FSM report SIFI36).

Steele’s Good-Bye Presses for More Tough Standards

In his last speech in office, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Graham Steele today called for reassessment of the treatment of unrealized gains or losses not just under the capital rules, but also in the liquidity standards (where they are in fact to some degree now captured).

House Democrats Damn Capital Proposal With Faint Praise

In this report, we begin our assessment of Congressional end-game comment letters.

Senate Letters Slam Capital Proposal’s Tax-Equity Risk Weight Changes

Here, we turn to several Senate letters on the end-game proposal.

Daily011824.pdf…

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 …

15 12, 2023

Al121823

Arezou Rafikian2023-12-15T16:56:09-05:00December 15th, 2023|3- This Week|

Switching from Tea to Gatorade

As we noted, CFPB Director Chopra has referred to the Financial Stability Oversight Council as a “book-report club.” We don’t disagree – each lengthy annual report has seemed more a compendium of financial-sector facts than a guide to action based on any of them. However, last week’s FSOC meeting seemed to move from reading to at least talking about intervening, with the readout making it clear that hedge funds are first on the systemic chopping block now that the Council has finalized its systemic methodology (see FSM Report SYSTEMIC98). Mr. Chopra is especially emphatic about the need to use FSOC’s newly-revised designation power (see FSM Report SIFI37) to name names and set standards. His target is big tech and the Council’s report this year and its focus on AI may move it slightly in that direction at some future point.

Al121823.pdf…

14 12, 2023

DAILY121423

Arezou Rafikian2023-12-15T17:22:54-05:00December 14th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Top Senate Democrats Heighten Payment App Scrutiny

Continuing to shift their focus from Zelle to payment-service providers, Senate Banking Chairman Brown (D-OH) along with Sens. Reed (D-RI) and Warren (D-MA) today sent letters to Paypal and CashApp urging them to adopt new scam-reimbursement policies.

Treasury Defends Russian Sanctions, Economic-Warfare Clout

Facing increasing assertions that U.S.-led sanctions are not meaningfully affecting Russia, Treasury today issued a blog stoutly defending sanctions effectiveness.

Reed Presses OFR to Subpoena Shadow-Bank Data

The principal sponsor of the Dodd-Frank provisions creating the Office of Financial Research, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), today defended the agency on grounds that it lacks a confirmed director, promising to push the appointment on the floor as quickly as possible.

Basel Targets Stablecoin Reserve-Asset Risk

Moving forward with “targeted” changes to current standards, the Basel Committee today outlined revisions to its crypto standards with significant practical implications.

Liang Disputes Over-Arching Need for New AI Regs

Treasury Under Secretary Liang today argued that AI is not fundamentally different than other financial innovations and is already subject to existing consumer-protection, safety-and-soundness, illicit-finance, and financial-stability guardrails.

FRB-NY Official Highlights AI Promise, Problems, Policy Action

Summarizing a recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York AI conference, the Bank’s chief risk officer, Mihaela Nistor, concluded that AI can now identify GSIB and GSIFI risk due to its ability to detect tail behavior not now captured by relevant models.

Democrats Urge CFPB to Take Second Stand Against Forced Arbitration

Sens. Warren (D-MA) and Sanders (I-VT) were today …

9 11, 2023

SYSTEMIC98

Eliza Allen2023-11-09T13:06:42-05:00November 9th, 2023|1- Financial Services Management|

Systemic-Risk Determinations

Rejecting the Trump Administration’s hands-off approach to designating systemically-important nonbank financial institutions or activities and practices, the Biden Administration’s FSOC has finalized its bifurcated proposals to designate systemic entities and another laying out an analytical approach to identifying systemic risk that would then guide firm and activity designation as well as Council staff coordination with primary federal regulators. This is likely to lead to new additional systemic entity-based designations, rules, product or service prohibitions/restrictions, and/or firm-specific supervisory action. The final framework is as comprehensive as the proposal, meaning that U.S. systemic standards could extend far more widely than is now the case even if firm-specific nonbank designations are few and far between.

SYSTEMIC98.pdf…

3 11, 2023

DAILY110323

Eliza Allen2023-11-03T17:39:35-04:00November 3rd, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

FSOC Advances Designation Framework, Ready to Deploy

The FSOC today voted unanimously to finalize the Council’s analytic framework for financial stability risk identification (see FSM Report SYSTEMIC95) and guidance on nonbank financial company systemic designations (see FSM Report SIFI35). FedFin will soon provide clients with in-depth reports on each item. In addition to minor clarifications to the analytic framework, the Council importantly decided not to add cost-benefit analysis. Further, the final nonbank designation guidance is unchanged from the proposal, meaning that designation standards will not require a determination of imminent threat to financial stability.

Daily110323.pdf…

25 09, 2023

DAILY092523

Eliza Allen2023-09-25T16:05:07-04:00September 25th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

IMF Report: CBDC Designs Could Boost Financial Inclusion

On Friday, the IMF released a report concluding that a well-designed CBDC could foster financial inclusion and act as an entry point for the unbanked to the broader financial system. This will strengthen Democratic demands for a U.S. CBDC, but we expect GOP opposition to remain firm and the Fed’s posture to retain its current focus on wholesale CBDCs.

FRB-NY: Stablecoins, MMFs Have Same Dynamic Runs

An FRB New York study today concludes that stablecoin investors behaved similarly to MMF investors in numerous recent runs. Staff found that investors consider a stablecoin to have been effectively depegged once its price drops below $0.99 which triggers a run and mirrors the dynamics of MMFs “breaking the buck.”

Senate Dems Target SIFI Designation, Scenarios to Curb Climate Risk

Senator Warren (D-MA) along with Sens. Sanders (I-VT), Heinrich (D-NM), Markey (D-MA), Whitehouse (D-RI), and Merkley (D-OR) today released a letter dated last Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Yellen and Climate Counselor Zindler calling on the Department to significantly increase the urgency with which it targets climate-related financial risk.

Daily092523.pdf…

25 09, 2023

Al092523

Eliza Allen2023-09-25T11:00:27-04:00September 25th, 2023|3- This Week|

Systemic Steps

We held this weekly update on Friday because Washington was awash with rumors that FSOC would issue final versions of proposed systemic-evaluation standards (see FSM Report SYSTEMIC95) along with a new designation methodology (see FSM Report SIFI35). As it turned out, FSOC said so little in its closed-door meeting readout that it didn’t suffice even for a client alert, let alone a weekly. Still, something is coming soon and, when it does, it will start yet another partisan and sometimes even emotional debate over financial regulation redefining the sector’s strategic landscape.

Al092523.pdf…