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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…

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 for GLBT Elders), and Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign.
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Continue Reading House Committee Holds Hearing on Financial Services and the LGBTQ+ Community

On October 22, 2019, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) issued two letters concluding that three Federal Reserve Supervision and Regulation letters, SR 12-17: Consolidated Supervision Framework for Large Financial Institutions, SR 14-8: Consolidated Recovery Planning for Certain Large Domestic Bank Holding Companies, and SR 11-7: Guidance on Model Risk Management, are “rules” under the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) and therefore must be submitted to Congress and the Comptroller General for review before they can take effect.  The GAO letters respond to requests made by several senators for determinations of whether the three SR letters, as well as SR 15-7: Governance Structure of the Large Institution Supervision Coordinating Committee (LISCC) Supervisory Program, are rules under the CRA.  The GAO concluded that SR 15-7 is not a rule under the CRA.
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Continue Reading GAO Concludes Three SR Letters Are Rules Under Congressional Review Act

On February 27th, Reps. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a resolution emphasizing the need to ethically develop artificial intelligence (“AI”). H. RES. 153, titled “Supporting the development of guidelines for ethical development of artificial intelligence,” calls on the government to work with stakeholders to ensure that AI is developed in a…

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 respect to tailoring regulations, and highlighted the steps being taken to implement the law.

The witnesses at the hearing were: Joseph Otting, Comptroller, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”); Randal Quarles, Vice Chairman for Supervision, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“FRB”); Jelena McWilliams, Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”); and J. Mark McWatters, Chairman, National Credit Union Administration (“NCUA”).

This post summarizes below, as highlighted in the witnesses’ testimony:

  • some of the key steps these agencies have taken to implement the Act, which include the release of a number of proposed and interim final rules; and
  • the steps the agencies intend to take next, including tailoring enhanced prudential standards for larger bank holding companies (“BHCs”).

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Continue Reading After Senate Banking Committee Testimony, Where Does Dodd-Frank Reform Stand?

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 pursuing financial reform efforts in narrowly focused stages rather than through comprehensive legislation.

The approved bills are reintroduced versions of bills that received consideration previously — in some cases receiving near-unanimous approval by the full House — without final enactment. They are summarized below.…

Continue Reading House and Senate Panels Advance SEC Proposals

On February 14, 2017, President Donald Trump signed a resolution nullifying a Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regulation that required energy companies to disclose foreign payments. This marks the first successful use of the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) procedure in 16 years, and only the second successful use since the statute passed in 1996.  Several more such resolutions are likely to follow, potentially including a resolution nullifying the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) prepaid card rule.
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Continue Reading President Trump Signs First Congressional Review Act Disapproval Resolution in 16 Years