Yesterday, on Sunday, March 22, 2020, U.S. Senate Republicans released the latest version of their COVID-19-related stimulus bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or CARES Act. The bill contains several measures intended to provide relief to banks, their customers, and broader financial markets. The latest version of the CARES Act includes the … Continue Reading
On March 6, 2020, the American Bankers Association (“ABA”), on behalf of the banking industry in 49 states and Puerto Rico, sent a letter to leaders of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee (the “Committee”) urging them to advance a bill that would expand banking access for legal marijuana businesses, the Secure and … Continue Reading
On February 26, 2020, a settlement agreement was filed in California Reinvestment Coalition et al. v. Kraninger et al., a lawsuit initiated by the California Reinvestment Coalition regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (the “Bureau”) failure to issue small-business data collection regulations under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank … Continue Reading
On January 13, 2020, the House of Representatives in a vote of 384 to 7 passed a bill titled the 8-K Trading Gap Act. The bill would require companies to promulgate policies and procedures that prohibit corporate executives from trading company stock during the time period between the occurrence of a major corporate event and … Continue Reading
The House Financial Services Committee (“HFSC”) announced that it will convene hearings this month to consider both the trend of financial technology firms partnering with chartered banks to provide financial services and the rise of mobile payments. More information about the hearing schedule is available on the HFSC’s website.… Continue Reading
On January 7, 2020, the presidential campaign of Senator Elizabeth Warren released a plan to overhaul the consumer bankruptcy system in the United States. The plan would repeal means testing and other provisions of the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. It would also implement enhanced protections for consumer debtors who file for … Continue Reading
On October 29, 2019, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing entitled “Financial Services and the LGBTQ+ Community: A Review of Discrimination in Lending and Housing.” Witnesses at the hearing included Harper Jean Tobin, the Director of Policy at the National Center for Transgender Equality, Michael Adams, CEO of SAGE (Services and Advocacy … Continue Reading
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
