Regulatory Reform

There has been a flurry of activity at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) in recent weeks.  As we reported previously, the CFTC approved three final rules, including the much-anticipated position limits rule, at its October 15 open meeting, and announced significant organizational changes to its operating divisions on November 3.  This post highlights additional significant actions by the CFTC in October and November and previews what is next for the CFTC under a Biden Administration.
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Continue Reading CFTC News Roundup for October and November and a Look Ahead

On September 30, 2020, the Federal Reserve released a proposal to update its capital planning requirements in a number of respects, including to integrate the capital plan rule with the Federal Reserve’s October 2019 final rules tailoring its enhanced prudential standards.  The proposal would make the following notable changes:

  • Replacement of Company-Run Stress Testing for

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At open meetings on Wednesday, July 22, and Thursday, July 23, the CFTC approved, by a 3-2 vote, two significant final rules implementing provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act.  The first rule imposes capital requirements on swap dealers (“SDs”) and major swap participants (“MSPs”) that are not subject to supervision by a banking regulator, as well as financial report requirements for all SDs and MSPs.  The second rule addresses the cross-border application of the SD and MSP registration thresholds and establishes a formal process for requesting comparability determinations for such requirements from the CFTC.  Each final rule is summarized below.
Continue Reading CFTC Adopts Final Rules on Capital Requirements and Cross-Border Application of the Registration Thresholds for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants

On January 8, 2020, Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) Governor Lael Brainard delivered remarks on the state of Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) reform before an audience at the Urban Institute.  As we summarized in a client alert, last month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) released a proposed overhaul of the regulations implementing the CRA, which the FRB declined to join.  While Governor Brainard’s speech made clear that she was not speaking on behalf of the FRB, her remarks provided insight into FRB decision-making on CRA reform and possible avenues to consensus among the agencies.
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Continue Reading FRB Governor Brainard Discusses Path Forward on Community Reinvestment Act Reform

The federal banking agencies issued a final rule today that permits banking organizations not subject to the advanced approaches capital rules to adopt simplifications to the calculation of their regulatory capital beginning January 1, 2020, rather than April 1, 2020 as was originally finalized in July 2019.
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Continue Reading Federal Banking Agencies Permit First Quarter 2020 Adoption of Capital Simplifications Rule

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 as part of the agencies’ ongoing efforts to meaningfully reduce regulatory burden on small and mid-sized banking organizations, the final rule is intended to simplify and clarify certain aspects of the capital rules, and in particular the capital treatment of mortgage servicing assets, certain deferred tax assets, investments in the capital instruments of unconsolidated financial institutions, and minority interests.  Importantly, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Board”) also used the rulemaking as an opportunity to streamline an important aspect of its regulatory framework by permitting bank holding companies, savings and loan holding companies, and state member banks of all sizes to redeem or repurchase their common stock without obtaining formal, prior regulatory approval under most circumstances.
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Continue Reading Federal Reserve Rationalizes Stock Buyback Rules

On April 17, 2019, CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger outlined her approach in executing the Bureau’s statutory mission in a speech to the Bipartisan Policy Center. This was Director Kraninger’s first major speech since taking the helm at the Bureau. Kraninger’s remarks were organized around the tools that the Bureau will utilize to advance its core…

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 October 1, 2018, Chairman Giancarlo of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) released a white paper titled “Cross-Border Swaps Regulation Version 2.0: A Risk-Based Approach with Deference to Comparable Non-U.S. Regulation.” The Chairman previewed both his views on cross-border swaps reform and the paper in speeches delivered in London, Tokyo and Singapore…

On September 4, 2018, in a speech at the City Guildhall in London, Chairman Giancarlo previewed a new approach to cross-border application of Dodd-Frank swaps provisions, which will be memorialized in a forthcoming white paper.

Chairman Giancarlo began his remarks with a historical overview of cross-border swaps regulation, highlighting post Dodd-Frank reforms. He then summarized the current regulatory regime, emphasizing the substantial progress that has been made in the world’s primary swaps trading jurisdictions to implement commitments made after the 2008 financial crisis at the Pittsburgh G-20 summit.

The Chairman went on to offer a Mea culpa and an apologia, stating that the CFTC’s current approach to applying swaps rules to its cross-border activities has resulted in a number of problems. The Mea culpa was offered for the 2013 cross-border guidance which imposed CFTC transaction rules on swaps traded by U.S. persons even in jurisdictions committed to G-20 swaps reforms. Chairman Giancarlo expressed his view that such an approach “alienated many overseas regulatory counterparts and squandered important American leadership and influence in global reform efforts.” The Chairman allowed that CFTC’s “over-expansive assertion of jurisdiction” may have been understandable in 2013 when other G-20 jurisdictions had not yet implemented swaps reforms. However, today, he views the approach as increasingly out of sync with the world’s major swaps trading regimes, which have since adopted comparable swaps reforms.…

Continue Reading Past is Prologue: A New Approach to Cross-Border Application of Dodd-Frank Swaps Provisions