Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee Likely to Let Export-Import Bank Lapse, Timing Unclear for Regulatory Relief Last week, Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) noted that he does not “see any crying-out need for a markup” of legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, making clear that he has no plans to markup the legislation that … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Democrats Pushing Regulatory Relief Bill On Wednesday, June 3, Democrats on the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees filed a joint bill – the Community Lender Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2015 (H.R. 2642/S. 1491) aimed at providing targeted regulatory relief to smaller banks and credit unions by, among other … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers to Focus on Export-Import Bank Reauthorization This week, the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees will hold hearings to discuss the Export-Import Bank – the agency that finances the export of American goods and services. The hearings will include several of the same witnesses, including the Honorable Fred P. Hochberg, President … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Banking Committee Set to Mark-Up Legislative Package of Financial Regulatory Reform As we highlighted last week, this Thursday, May 21, the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a markup of Chairman Richard Shelby’s (R-AL) highly-anticipated legislative package of financial regulatory reform. Chairman Shelby last week released a draft of his legislation, which … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Financial Services Committee to Consider Legislative Proposals as Banking Committee Prepares for Delayed Markup The Senate Banking Committee has rescheduled its markup of legislation to reform aspects of the financial services industry for May 21. While exactly what will be contained in the final legislation is unclear – and subject to change – … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers to Focus on Oversight of and Regulatory Burdens on the Financial Services Industry With the Senate Banking Committee set to hold a markup on May 14 to consider proposals that would provide regulatory relief to community and regional banks, both the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees this week will hold … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee Schedules Markup on Regulatory Relief for Community and Regional Banks Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) has announced that the Committee will hold a markup on May 14 to consider proposals that would provide regulatory relief to community and regional banks. Despite earlier concerns to the contrary, it appears that Chairman Shelby … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee Markup Not Yet Scheduled This week, the Senate Banking Committee was expected to hold a markup regarding proposals to provide regulatory relief to small banks. However, the markup has not yet been scheduled, as Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) has not agreed to limit the upcoming markup to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers to Consider Oversight of Several Agencies This week, both the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee are slated to hold several hearings focused on oversight efforts of several agencies. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing to review accountability of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) as relates … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee to Review Regime for Regional Banks The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing to further examine the regulatory regime for regional banks this week. As mentioned in previous coverage, the path for regulatory relief for regional and community banks remains uncertain and the Committee already held two … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Federal Reserve Remains Under Scrutiny This week, Congress will continue its focus on examining potential reforms to the Federal Reserve. Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testified before Congress, which included discussion regarding recently introduced legislation to audit the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision-making. This week, the scrutiny will continue as the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers to Focus on Federal Reserve, Housing This week, Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, will testify before the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees on monetary policy and the state of the economy. Chair Yellen’s remarks come as lawmakers continue to call for reform … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Financial Services Committee Continues to Focus on Housing As mentioned previously, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) plans to make reforming the housing finance market a “huge priority” this Congress. After having already held a hearing with Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt, this week the Committee will question … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity President Obama to Unveil FY 2016 Budget Later today, President Obama is set to unveil his FY 2016 Budget (Budget). As in previous years, we anticipate that President Obama will seek increased funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) than was allocated by Congress for this … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Housing Finance Reform “Huge Priority” for Hensarling Last week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) announced that reforming the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) will be a “huge priority” for him this Congress. Chairman Hensarling’s pronouncement coincides with his recent announcement that his committee’s first hearing this Congress will feature Federal Housing Finance … Continue Reading
Today, the House passed an 11-bill package with a 271-154 vote (H.R. 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act). The package, which amends various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), had failed last week to reach the two-thirds majority vote that was necessary to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on Dodd-Frank Reforms As noted last Friday, the House failed to pass an 11-bill package (H.R. 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act) under suspension of the rules, which would amend various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). This … Continue Reading
House of Representatives Leadership Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was reelected as Speaker of the House. A small faction of the Republican Party – 25 Members – did not vote for him. As a result, two of those Members, Florida Congressmen Richard Nugent and Daniel Webster, lost their seats on the influential House Rules Committee. Scott … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Poised to Move Forward with TRIA Legislation, Dodd-Frank Also in Focus As previously discussed, the 113th Congress was unable to renew the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). Given the urgency to pass such legislation, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has indicated that “the House will act very quickly in the new Congress … Continue Reading
On June 17, 2013, President Obama, European Council President Van Rompuy and European Commission President Barroso agreed to open negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement. Since then, EU and US officials have conducted seven negotiation rounds on TTIP, with an eighth round expected to take place in Brussels in early February … Continue Reading
Before the 113th Congress adjourned on December 16, Congress adopted the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, which ensures the federal government operates with budget certainty until September 2015. Among the provisions included in the last-minute budget agreement was an amendment to a provision in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) that will … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Near Deal on TRIA, May Consider Insurance Capital Standards As the legislative session draws to a close, it appears that lawmakers in the Senate and House are nearing a deal to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is set to expire at the end of the year. While there has … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Chairman Hensarling Announces Financial Services Committee Appointments This week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) announced Subcommittee Chairmen for the House Financial Services Committee for the 114th Congress, including: Scott Garrett (R-NJ): Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee (current chair); Randy Neugebauer (R-TX): Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee (currently chairs … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers to Continue Debate on TRIA As mentioned in previous coverage, Congress will continue to debate reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is set to expire at year’s end. While the substance and timing of such legislation remains uncertain, various lawmakers are continuing to push for a short-term (6 to … Continue Reading
