Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified before the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs at the committee’s Financial Stability Oversight Council annual report to Congress hearing.  In his prepared statement, Secretary Mnuchin noted that the FSOC annual report recommended that member agencies review existing rules and regulations to reduce overlap and duplication, modernize regulations that have become outdated and tailor regulations to fit the size and complexity of the financial institutions for which the regulations are applicable.  Secretary Mnuchin praised Congress for the bipartisan Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, a legislative proposal that seeks to ease the regulatory burden on smaller community-based financial institutions, and urged both the US Senate and the US House of Representatives to take quick action to reduce regulatory burdens.  Secretary Mnuchin also stressed that cybersecurity is a key risk identified in the FSOC annual report. While Secretary Mnuchin stated that progress has been made with regard to cybersecurity, he highlighted the danger that a large-scale cybersecurity incident could significantly disrupt the financial system, especially given the ever-increasing reliance on technology.

View full text of Secretary Mnuchin’s statement.