On July 9, 2019, the federal banking agencies released a final rule to simplify aspects of the regulatory capital rules for banking organizations that are not “advanced approaches” banking organizations, i.e., those with less than $250 billion in total consolidated assets and less than $10 billion in total foreign exposure. Initially proposed in September 2017 … Continue Reading
On April 2, 2019, the federal banking agencies proposed a rule that would require large banking organizations to deduct from their regulatory capital certain investments in total loss-absorbing capacity (“TLAC”) debt issued by global systemically important banking organizations (“G-SIBs”) rather than to risk-weight such investments as is currently done. The rule is intended to reduce … Continue Reading
On March 29, 2019, the board of the FDIC approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that would revise the supplementary leverage ratio (“SLR”) to exclude certain deposits placed at central banks from custodial banks’ SLR denominators, implementing section 402 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (“EGRRCPA”). The OCC and Federal Reserve … Continue Reading
In a November 9, 2018 speech, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal K. Quarles outlined potential adjustments to the revisions to the capital planning regime that the Federal Reserve proposed in April 2018. Governor Quarles also said he will ask the Federal Reserve to exempt banks with less than $250 billion in assets from … 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 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
On July 16, 2018, the Financial Stability Board (“FSB”) issued a report to the G20 Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors summarizing the work that the FSB and other international standard-setting bodies have undertaken regarding crypto-assets. The FSB notably reported that it has developed a framework for monitoring financial stability risks related to crypto-assets, … 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
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 Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) will hold an open meeting on June 12, 2017, to hear concerns from financial institutions regarding FASB’s recently finalized Accounting Standards Update for measuring credit losses on financial instruments (the Current Expected Credit Loss standard, or “CECL”) under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). FASB issued the new CECL standard … Continue Reading
On April 4, 2017, Federal Reserve Board Governor Daniel K. Tarullo gave his final speech as a governor before his departure from the Board the next day. Governor Tarullo, widely considered the “most influential Wall Street regulator” during his term as governor, took the lead for the Federal Reserve in developing the agency’s most significant … Continue Reading
On March 30, 2017, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (“BCBS”) issued a consultative document to revise the methodology it uses to measure the systemic importance of internationally active banks. The BCBS methodology incorporates various quantitative indicators of a bank’s “Cross-Jurisdictional Activity,” “Size,” “Interconnectedness,” “Substitutability,” and “Complexity” to arrive at a single score of each … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a highly-anticipated draft supplement to its Licensing Manual (the “Supplement”) for evaluating applications from fintech companies for a special purpose national bank (“SPNB”) charter. The Supplement explains how the OCC will apply its existing licensing standards and requirements to these companies. The OCC … Continue Reading
On March 9, 2017, the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee conducted their first legislative mark-ups in the new Congress and approved bipartisan bills to amend several SEC-related laws. Observers have speculated that the simultaneous advancement of this package of bipartisan bills in both chambers may indicate that key legislators are open to … Continue Reading
On January 30, 2017, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”) released a final rule amending its capital plan and Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (“CCAR”) stress testing rules. The final rule addresses the following key issues, among others: Qualitative Assessments. Under the final rule, “large and noncomplex bank … Continue Reading
On December 15, 2016, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) issued a final rule requiring global systemically important banking organizations (“G-SIBs”) to issue minimum amounts of “plain vanilla” unsecured long-term debt and total loss-absorbing capacity (“TLAC”) instruments, and to maintain so-called “clean” holding companies that have no “runnable” liabilities. … Continue Reading
On December 9, 2016, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo delivered the keynote address at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association Trade Execution Legal Forum. His address included a strong rebuke of the CFTC’s swaps trading regime, stating that the “time has come for the CFTC to revisit its flawed swaps trading … Continue Reading
Today, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued its final standard on the regulatory capital treatment of banking organizations’ holdings of Total Loss Absorbing Capacity (“TLAC”) and related instruments issued by global systemically important banking organizations (“G-SIBs”). The final standard has important implications for the marketability and liquidity of TLAC and other instruments that G-SIBs … Continue Reading
