Major Developments
Congress
U.S. Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Legislation to Incentivize Whistleblowers to Report Consumer Fraud Introduced
March 31, 2023
U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced the Financial Compensation for CFPB Whistleblowers Act to authorize the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to award financial compensation to whistleblowers who report wrongdoing to the CFPB. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Bernard Sanders (I-VT). Companion legislation is being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Al Green (D-Texas-09).
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Ranking Member of Committee on SBA Demands SBA Continue Collections on Nearly $72 Billion of Taxpayer-Funded COVID Loans
April 3, 2023
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, sent a letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) demanding it pursue all debt collections, no matter the size, for all SBA COVID Programs.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Small Business
Committee on Small Business Announces April Hearing Schedule
April 3, 2023
The House Committee on Small Business announced its April hearing schedule.
Full Committee Hearing: "Paying Their Fair Share: How Tax Hikes Crush the Competitiveness of Small Businesses."
Date & Time: Tuesday, April 18th at 2:00PM
Location: Hearing Room, 2360 Rayburn
Subcommittee on Oversight Investigations and Regulations Hearing: "Office of Inspector General Reports to Congress on Investigations of SBA Programs."
Date & Time: Wednesday, April 19th at 10:00AM
Location: Hearing Room, 2360 Rayburn
Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development Hearing: "Help Wanted: Exploring how Alternative Paths to Student Debt Can Help Strengthen Small Businesses."
Date & Time: Wednesday, April 26th at 10:00AM
Location: Hearing Room, 2360 Rayburn
Full Committee Hearing: "A Steward of the Taxpayer: Examining Waste and Duplication at the SBA."
Date & Time: Thursday, April 27th at 10:00AM
Location: Hearing Room, 2360 Rayburn
Federal Agencies
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FDIC Announces Upcoming Sale of the Loan Portfolio from the Former Signature Bank
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced the framework of a marketing process for the approximately $60 billion loan portfolio retained in receivership following the failure of Signature Bank.
Federal Reserve Board
Speech: The U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy
March 31, 2023
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) Governor Lisa D. Cook gave a speech at the 2023 Midwest Economics Association 87th Annual Meeting entitled, "The U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy."
Speech: The Unstable Phillips Curve
March 31, 2023
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller gave a speech at the Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy Conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco entitled, "The Unstable Phillips Curve."
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Blog: Monetary Policy Transmission and the Size of the Money Market Fund Industry: An Update
April 3, 2023
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published a Liberty Street Economics blog post entitled, "Monetary Policy Transmission and the Size of the Money Market Fund Industry: An Update."
Conference of State Bank Supervisors
Blog: SES Consumer Finance Standards Expand State Exam Uniformity
April 3, 2023
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors published a blog post entitled, "SES Consumer Finance Standards Expand State Exam Uniformity."
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
CFPB Issues Guidance to Address Abusive Conduct in Consumer Financial Markets
April 3, 2023
The CFPB issued a policy statement that explains the legal prohibition on abusive conduct in consumer financial markets and summarizes over a decade of precedent.
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
Allard, Ford, and Marshall Reappointed to FFIEC State Liaison Committee
April 3, 2023
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) announced the reappointments of Kevin Allard, Yolanda Ford, and Susannah Marshall to the FFIEC's State Liaison Committee.
Ginnie Mae
Global Markets Analysis Report – March 2023
April 3, 2023
Ginnie Mae released the Global Markets Analysis Report for March 2023.
International
Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority
Feedback Statement: The prudential liquidity framework: Supporting liquid asset usability
April 3, 2023
The Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority released a feedback statement entitled, "The prudential liquidity framework: Supporting liquid asset usability."
UK Financial Conduct Authority
FCA announces decision to continue synthetic US dollar LIBOR
April 3, 2023
The UK Financial Conduct Authority announced it has decided to require LIBOR's administrator, ICE Benchmark Administration Limited, to continue the publication of the 1-, 3- and 6-month US dollar LIBOR settings for a short period after 30 June 2023, using an unrepresentative 'synthetic' methodology.
Administration Changes
Vacancies
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Vice Chair – Vacant (Vice Chair Leal Brainard resigned effective on or around February 20, 2023)
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
- Comptroller – Vacant (Michael Hsu serves as Acting Comptroller)
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
- Director – Vacant (Himamauli Das serves as Acting Director)
Appointments/Confirmation Hearings
U.S. Department of the Treasury – Janet Yellen (effective January 26, 2021)
Federal Reserve Board – Jerome H. Powell (effective May 23, 2022)
Federal Reserve Bank of New York – John C. Williams (effective June 18, 2018)
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston – Susan M. Collins (effective July 1, 2022)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Martin Gruenberg (effective January 5, 2023)
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency – Michael Hsu (acting Comptroller, effective May 10, 2021)
Securities and Exchange Commission – Gary Gensler (effective April 17, 2021)
Commodity Futures Trading Commission – Rostin Behnam (effective December 17, 2021)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Rohit Chopra (effective October 12, 2021)
National Credit Union Administration – Todd M. Harper (effective January 20, 2021)
Small Business Administration – Isabella Casillas Guzman (effective March 16, 2021)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Marcia Fudge (effective March 10, 2021)
Federal Housing Finance Agency – Sandra L. Thompson (effective June 22, 2022)
U.S. Department of Education – Dr. Miguel Cardona (effective March 2, 2021)
PH Client Alerts
Click here to read more from our Coronavirus series.
Legislation/Legislative Updates
Click here to view the full text of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act"), Enacted March 27, 2020.
Click here to view the full text of the Paycheck Protection Program Increase Act of 2020, Enacted April 24, 2020.
Click here to view the full text of the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, Enacted June 5, 2020.
Click here to view the full text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Enacted December 27, 2020.
Click here to view the full text of the American Rescue Plan of 2021, Enacted March 11, 2021.
Click here to view the full text of the PPP Extension Act of 2021, Enacted March 30, 2021.
Click here to view a running list of proposed legislation from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, House Committee on Financial Services, and House Committee on Small Business.
