On October 2, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California’s Public Banking Act, AB 857, into law. California previously prohibited cities and counties from extending credit to any person or corporation, and required that local agencies deposit all funds to state or national banks. AB 857 now permits cities and counties to establish a “public bank,” … Continue Reading
On September 5, 2019, the Treasury Department (“Treasury”) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) released complementary proposals that, if implemented, would result in extensive changes to federal regulation of housing finance. The plans respond to a Presidential Memorandum of March 27, 2019, directing Treasury and HUD to develop housing reform proposals consistent … Continue Reading
On July 11, the House Financial Services Committee held a markup for a series of bills designed to reform the credit reporting system and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). Each bill passed on a party-line vote. The associated hearing was titled “Who’s Keeping Score? Holding Credit Bureaus Accountable and Repairing a Broken System.” In … Continue Reading
On May 9, 2019, the House Financial Services Committee (“HFSC”) unanimously approved an amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 2514, the Coordinating Oversight, Upgrading and Innovating Technology, and Examiner Reform Act (the “COUNTER Act” or the “Act”). The COUNTER Act, introduced by Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) would be the first major reform … Continue Reading
On March 28, 2019, the House Financial Services Committee (“HFSC”) voted 45-15 to advance to the full House of Representatives the bill H.R. 1595, the “Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019” (the “SAFE Banking Act” or the “Act”). The SAFE Banking Act would shield banks and credit unions from federal regulatory penalties for … Continue Reading
On March 27, 2019, the White House released a memorandum on federal housing finance that instructed the Treasury Secretary to develop (i) a “Treasury Housing Reform Plan” that addresses the roles of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – and (ii) a “HUD Reform Plan” for certain programs of the Department … Continue Reading
New York has enacted the Digital Currency Study Bill, which will establish a digital currency task force and provide the governor and the state legislature information “on the effects of the widespread use of cryptocurrencies and other forms of digital currencies and their ancillary systems in the state.” The task force will conduct an extensive … Continue Reading
Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), the newly appointed Chair of the House Financial Services Committee (the “Committee”), took a first step last week towards one of the major priorities of the Committee under her leadership – the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the financial services sector. The first change under the new Chair’s watch was … Continue Reading
Representatives of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) testified on Thursday, November 29 before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (“Banking Committee”) on anti-money laundering (“AML”) issues. The testimony highlighted some tensions between the views of … Continue Reading
On November 28, 2018, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) Chairman Jelena McWilliams delivered keynote remarks regarding resolution planning requirements at the 2018 Annual Conference of The Clearing House and Bank Policy Institute. Chairman McWilliams repeatedly emphasized that the failure of a financial institution should be dealt with through bankruptcy. She stated that she strongly supports … Continue Reading
On October 31, 2018, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Board”) released two draft notices of proposed rulemaking (“NPRs”) to tailor its enhanced prudential standards (“EPS”) in accordance with Section 401 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (“EGRRCPA”). One NPR, issued by only the Board, would tailor the … Continue Reading
On Tuesday October 2, leaders of the federal prudential regulators testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (“Banking Committee”) on their agencies’ efforts to implement the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (“EGRRCPA” or the “Act”). All of the regulators expressed support for the goals of EGRRCPA, particularly with … Continue Reading
On September 18, 2018, the federal banking agencies issued a release with a proposed rule to implement the changes made to the capital treatment of certain high-volatility commercial real estate (“HVCRE”) loans by section 214 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Reform, and Consumer Protection Act (“EGRRCPA”). The deadline for comments on the proposal is 60 … Continue Reading
On July 16, 2018, Republican and Democratic leadership of the House Financial Services Committee announced that they have reached agreement to advance a package of financial services reforms known as the “JOBS Act 3.0,” consisting of 32 pieces of legislation that have passed the Committee or the full House with bipartisan support. While much of … Continue Reading
California has taken a conservative step on the path to greater regulation of blockchain technology or legal recognition of blockchain-secured data. On May 18, an amended bill was referred to the State Assembly Appropriations Committee for review that would provide for the establishment of a blockchain working group to evaluate “the potential uses, risks, and … Continue Reading
This week, the House Financial Services Committee (the “Committee”) approved by a vote of 35-25 a bill introduced last month by Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) that would exclude from the definition of “debt collector” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) law firms or licensed attorneys engaged in litigation activities to collect a debt, … Continue Reading
The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Crapo that would roll back some of the regulations put in place by the Dodd-Frank Act following the 2008 financial crisis. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, which was passed in a 67-31 bipartisan vote, would provide notable regulatory relief to … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, February 21, the Treasury Department issued a report regarding the Orderly Liquidation Authority (“OLA”) established by Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act under which the FDIC may be appointed as receiver of a severely distressed and systemically important financial company. This report was prepared in response to the President’s April 21, 2017 memorandum … Continue Reading
Following the Equifax data breach in 2017, there has been heightened awareness surrounding how credit reporting agencies handle consumers’ personal information. At the same time, recent high-profile attacks, such as the “WannaCry” ransomware attacks, have focused media and regulatory attention on vulnerabilities associated with unpatched systems. In response to these two concerns, on January 10, … Continue Reading
The Senate Banking Committee held its first hearing of 2018 earlier this week to discuss potential reform of the current U.S. regulatory framework for combating money laundering and other forms of illicit financing. Current proposals for reform include raising the mandatory reporting thresholds for currency transactions and suspicious activity, requiring the collection of beneficial ownership … Continue Reading
A recent poll — conducted by Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting on behalf of Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending — appears to show substantial public support for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a number of its recent regulatory initiatives. The published poll results reflect, among other things, … Continue Reading
On June 12, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the first of a series of reports recommending regulatory reforms to the financial system consistent with President Trump’s Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System. Treasury’s first report focuses on the regulatory framework governing the depository system. Notably, a substantial portion of … Continue Reading
The House of Representatives voted this afternoon to pass the Financial CHOICE Act (“CHOICE 2.0”), its comprehensive financial regulatory reform bill. The key provisions of CHOICE 2.0 are summarized in our client alert of April 24, 2017, available here, although the bill has evolved somewhat since April. As we wrote late last month, Representative Jeb … Continue Reading
On May 24, 2017, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, agreed to remove the repeal of the Durbin Amendment from the second discussion draft of the Financial CHOICE Act (“CHOICE 2.0”). The Durbin Amendment, an amendment to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act added by section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank … Continue Reading
