#transparency – Page 2 – Federal Financial Analytics

16 03, 2023

DAILY031623

Eliza Allen2023-03-16T17:11:59-04:00March 16th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

FedFin Assessment: One CS Consequence – LISCC Reinstatement For All Large Foreign GSIBs

In the wake of CS’s distress, we draw client attention to a 2021 exchange sure to factor heavily in the political response.

Brown Presses For In-Depth SVB, Signature Review

As anticipated (see Client Report RESOLVE49), Senate Banking Chairman Brown (D-OH) today called on all the banking agencies and Treasury quickly to undertake a review of SVB and Signatures failures.

Warren Heaps Still More Blame On Powell

In another letter today, Sen. Warren (D-MA) once again lambasted Chair Powell for what she claimed was his direct contribution to the collapse of Signature Bank and SVB as well as a “a culture of corruption” at the Fed.

Senate GOP Blames Fed, California re SVB

Senate Banking Republicans today tweeted a series of comments citing articles going back to last year identifying SVB risk and suggesting strongly that the Fed and California state supervisors are at fault for missing clear warning signs.

Bipartisan Senators Push Better Beneficial-Ownership Data Access

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Whitehouse (D-RI) was joined by Sens. Wyden (D-OR), Warren (D-MA), Grassley (R-IA), and Rubio (R-FL) late yesterday in submitting a comment letter to FinCEN taking serious issue with its proposed implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) (see FSM Report AML135).

Senate Finance Hearing Deepens SVB Divide

At a heated Senate Finance hearing with Treasury Secretary Yellen, Members were quick to deviate from the hearing’s budget-focused agenda to address who should bear the …

9 11, 2022

PAYMENT26

Eliza Allen2022-11-09T12:46:45-05:00November 9th, 2022|1- Financial Services Management|

Master-Account Transparency

Although the Fed characterized its final payment-system access guidelines as “transparent,” FedFin’s analysis and other assessments concluded that the Federal Reserve Banks retained considerable discretion to pick and choose those granted master accounts and there would be no ready way to identify which institutions had or lost this essential status for any provider of retail or wholesale deposit-taking services or their equivalent. The Board is now seeking to counter criticism with a revision to the guideline obliging Reserve Banks to create a quarterly list of institutions holding or ceasing to hold master-account privileges.

PAYMENT26.pdf…

7 11, 2022

DAILY110722

Eliza Allen2022-11-07T17:22:53-05:00November 7th, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

Toomey Calls for More Fed Transparency

Sen. Toomey (R-PA) continued Republican demands for still more Fed transparency, sharply criticizing the Fed’s Friday proposal to provide some transparency into which institutions are granted master accounts.

Sweeping CFPB Fee Restrictions Now Effective

The Federal Register today includes the CFPB’s circular on Unanticipated Overdraft Fee Assessment Practices and a bulletin now effective on Unfair Returned Deposited Item Fee Assessment Practices.

CFPB Advances Bigtech Market Power Campaign

Continuing its campaign against bigtech’s market power, the Federal Register today includes the CFPB’s notice and request for comment on what fees bigtech payment operators levy on users for violations of acceptable use policies and whether their policies include provisions to restrict user platform access.

Fed Staff Paper Tries To Gauge Social Welfare Impact Of Liquidity, Capital Regs

A new Fed staff study attempts to lay out the social costs and benefits of large-bank liquidity and capital regulation.

Warren Continues Campaign Against Wells Fargo, Zelle

Sen. Warren (D-MA) today continued her campaign against Zelle by sending letters to its parent company and Wells Fargo, taking particular aim at what she deems the latter’s failure to provide adequate claims and reimbursement data and labelling responses to previous letters “insulting.”

Warren Denounces Fed “Culture of Corruption”

Sen. Warren (D-MA) today also continued her campaign against Chairman Powell, sending him a letter alleging “another set of egregious and embarrassing ethics breaches.”

Daily110722.pdf…

24 10, 2022

Karen Petrou: Insider Trading, Insider Talking, and the Consequences of Outsider Wrath

Arezou Rafikian2022-10-24T10:53:08-04:00October 24th, 2022|The Vault|

There’s no question that the 2008 crisis was a bit of an embarrassment to everyone in charge no matter what all their memoirs since have said. However, the actual global financial cataclysm was nothing to U.S. voters compared to the torrent of furious protest sparked by Treasury’s maladroit decision to allow top executives at AIG to keep munificent pay raises even though many of them presided over and profited by actions that prompted well over $100 billion in taxpayer bailouts. So it is with the Fed. The looming battle over its billions to big finance companies is, as I detailed last week, a serious structural challenge. But the combination of continuing official trading conflicts and new revelations about closed-door meetings is a lot easier to understand and thus a political killer with immediate consequences for Fed governance when Congress gets around to thinking about things other than itself.

Elizabeth Warren’s already on it. Many will follow her lead not only because they often do, but also because this time she’s mostly right. Even if she weren’t, most people will understand why she was upset by Fed “insider” trading and now by a whole lot of insider talking.

That the St. Louis Fed only says that it needs to “rethink” its policy just throws salt in this gaping political wound. Saying also that the Bank’s president went without compensation to discuss monetary policy behind doors controlled by one of the giant companies it supervises doesn’t come close to countering …

24 10, 2022

M102422

Eliza Allen2022-10-24T10:52:26-04:00October 24th, 2022|6- Client Memo|

Insider Trading, Insider Talking, and the Consequences of Outsider Wrath

There’s no question that the 2008 crisis was a bit of an embarrassment to everyone in charge no matter what all their memoirs since have said. However, the actual global financial cataclysm was nothing to U.S. voters compared to the torrent of furious protest sparked by Treasury’s maladroit decision to allow top executives at AIG to keep munificent pay raises even though many of them presided over and profited by actions that prompted well over $100 billion in taxpayer bailouts. So it is with the Fed. The looming battle over its billions to big finance companies is, as I detailed last week, a serious structural challenge. But the combination of continuing official trading conflicts and new revelations about closed-door meetings is a lot easier to understand and thus a political killer with immediate consequences for Fed governance when Congress gets around to thinking about things other than itself.

M102422.pdf…

18 11, 2021

FAIRLEND10

Arezou Rafikian2023-05-26T10:30:48-04:00November 18th, 2021|1- Financial Services Management|

HMDA Rewrite

The CFPB has followed a study earlier this year finding significant mortgage product and price discrepancies based on race or ethnicity with a request for input (RFI) on the HMDA data on which the study was based. This is a preliminary effort with no immediate regulatory or supervisory consequences, but it likely presages a significant HMDA-regulatory rewrite in no later than 2023 to provide still more firepower for ongoing CFPB, Department of Justice, and bank-regulatory actions against credit discrimination and redlining.

FAIRLEND10.pdf…

18 11, 2021

FedFin Analysis of: HMDA Rewrite

Arezou Rafikian2023-05-26T10:31:04-04:00November 18th, 2021|The Vault|

The CFPB has followed a study earlier this year finding significant mortgage product and price discrepancies based on race or ethnicity with a request for input (RFI) on the HMDA data on which the study was based. This is a preliminary effort with no immediate regulatory or supervisory consequences, but it likely presages a significant HMDA-regulatory rewrite in no later than 2023 to provide still more firepower for ongoing CFPB, Department of Justice, and bank-regulatory actions against credit discrimination and redlining.

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

14 09, 2021

INVESTOR18

Arezou Rafikian2023-08-03T15:52:20-04:00September 14th, 2021|5- Client Report|

Gensler Stands Firm on Crypto, Climate, MMF, Gamification Rules

As is often the case, Senate Banking’s hearing today with SEC Chairman Gensler did not touch on the fixed-income structure questions highlighted in his written testimony even though these could be among the most consequential for long-term capital-market regulation and the balance between the Fed and SEC in this key arena. Instead, the session focused largely on consequential hot-button questions such as the SEC’s plans for climate-change disclosures and cryptoassets. Here, partisan differences were again on vigorous display, with the sharp divisions between Chairman Brown (D-OH) and Ranking Member Toomey (R-PA) making it clear that regulatory and enforcement actions — not statutory clarification — will set policy until at least the next Congressional election.

INVESTOR18.pdf…

13 09, 2021

Daily091321

Arezou Rafikian2023-08-03T15:54:48-04:00September 13th, 2021|2- Daily Briefing|

Gensler Presages Renewed Push-Out Battle Over Bank Securities Regulation
In his testimony ahead of his first Senate Banking appearance as SEC chairman, Gary Gensler added several new market-structure integrity and transparency issues to the Commission’s already-formidable to-do list, announcing a review of the non-Treasury fixed-income market.

Daily091321.pdf…