In This Issue:

Leading the Past Week; Legislative Branch - House of Representatives; Senate; Executive Branch - White House; CFPB; SEC; CFTC; and FDIC.

Excerpt from Leading the Past Week

With the Senate on still on recess or in pro forma session last week, the House had sole spotlight in our nation?s capital. Taking advantage of this, the House Financial Services Committee held a marathon hearing on the so-called “Volcker Rule” where a bipartisan chorus attacked the proposal and cited its numerous flaws. In addition, the House formally rejected President Obama?s request to raise the debt ceiling by a vote of 239-176. This kabuki-esque exercise will be followed shortly in the Senate as part of the play that was written into the debt deal in August. Both votes are exercises in futility in the sense that the President will veto the Congressional action and neither the House nor the Senate is anticipated to muster the support needed to for an override.

Of course, the biggest news during the past week was the full engagement of newly, and controversially appointed, CFPB Director Cordray, who convened his first CFPB public hearing and participated in his first Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) board meeting, either action potentially providing a plaintiff with standing to bring suit to challenge the appoint.