Legislative Activity Lawmakers May Extend TRIA and Consider Insurance Capital Standards in the Lame Duck As Congress returns to Washington, lawmakers may focus on a few agenda items beyond appropriations legislation. Particularly, Congress may look at reauthorizing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), at least through a short-term extension. Earlier this year, the House Financial … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Discuss FSOC Oversight On Wednesday, September 17, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing titled “Oversight of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.” During the hearing, Members emphasized the importance of transparency within the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and called for increased due process and accountability. At … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Financial Services Committee to Discuss Oversight of FSOC Following the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) unanimous decision on September 4 to preliminarily designate MetLife as a “systemically important” nonbank financial institution, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing to discuss oversight of the agency. Various lawmakers … Continue Reading
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY GAO Expected to Release Report on Big Banks On Thursday, July 31, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is expected to release a long awaited report on funding advantages of the largest banks. The report, prepared at the request of Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and David Vitter (R-LA), will be the focus of a … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Passes TRIA Reauthorization Bill; Timing of House Version Unclear On July 17, the Senate voted 93-4 to pass S. 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014. The bill reauthorizes the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) for seven years while making few changes to the current program. Shortly after the Senate passed … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate to Vote on TRIA Reauthorization Bill, Federal Reserve Membership This week, the Senate is expected to consider a bill (S. 2244) that would reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) for seven years, while making few changes to the current program. On July 10, Senate leadership agreed to a list of four … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House To Vote On CFTC Reauthorization Bill This week, the House is expected to debate and vote on the reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) through September 2018 (H.R. 4413). Additionally, while the Senate Agriculture Committee has yet to unveil its CFTC reauthorization bill, the level of bipartisan support that H.R. 4413 receives … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on CFTC Reauthorization Bill This week, the House of Representatives is expected to take up H.R 4413, a bill that would reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) through September 2018. On June 13, House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions(R-TX) asked Members to submit any amendments by Tuesday, June 15. The House bill would make several changes to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Confirms Three CFTC Commissioners, House To Take Up CFTC Reauthorization Bill On June 3, the Senate confirmed Timothy Massad as Chairman and Sharon Bowen and J. Christopher Giancarlo as Commissioners at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Chairman Massad was sworn in to his new office on June 5. It is expected … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee to Markup TRIA Reauthorization Bill On Tuesday, June 3, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a markup of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014 (S. 2244). The bill, which was introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), has bipartisan support and would: (1) extend the current Terrorism Risk Insurance … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee Favorably Reports GSE Reform Bill to Senate Floor On May 15, the Senate Banking Committee voted 13-9 to favorably report the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013 (S. 1217), to the Senate floor. However, as mentioned in previous coverage, despite being reported out of Committee, it remains uncertain … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee Likely to Markup GSE Reform Bill It appears as if the Senate Banking Committee is likely to hold a markup of legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), the “Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013” (S. 1217), this week; however, given the fluid nature of the situation, the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee Postpones Markup of GSE Reform Bill On Tuesday, April 29, the Senate Banking Committee announced that it was postponing the markup of legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), the “Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013” (S. 1217). According to Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD), “[w]hile we have the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee to Hold Markup of GSE Reform Bill and Vote on Nominations On Tuesday, April 29, the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a markup of the legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), released by Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo in March and based on … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Representative Garrett Introduces FSOC Transparency Legislation On Thursday, April 3, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets Chairman Scott Garrett (R-NJ) introduced legislation to increase transparency at the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). The legislation would allow all members of the Commissions and Boards represented in FSOC to participate in meetings and vote. The … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Waters Introduces GSE Legislation On Thursday, March 27, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) released a proposal to reform the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). Ranking Member Waters’ proposal, the HOME Forward Act of 2014, would wind down the GSEs and replace them with a new government agency that would oversee a fund … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Johnson and Crapo Release GSE Reform Draft On March 16, 2014, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) released a draft legislation to reform the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (a detailed summary can be found here). The draft legislation would replace the GSEs, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate to Hold Hearing on Federal Reserve Nominees This Thursday, March 13, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on various nominations to the Federal Reserve Board, including the nomination of Stanley Fischer, former Bank of Israel Governor, to be Vice Chairman. The committee will also consider the nominations of former U.S. Treasury … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on Flood Insurance Bill After delaying plans for a vote last week, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is expected to hold a vote on the amended Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (H.R. 3370) on Wednesday, March 5, under suspension of the rules. Among some of the changes, the latest draft … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House To Consider Amending Flood Insurance Bill This Wednesday, February 26, and for the duration of the week, the House will consider amending the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act under suspension of the rules. The legislation would scale back flood insurance rate increases. According to Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), “the House will … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, February 11: The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing titled, “Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy.” The Honorable Janet Yellen will testify at the hearing for the first time as Federal Reserve Board Chair. Thursday, February 13: The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Examines A Series of Regulatory Reports Last week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing to explore the annual report and oversight of the Department of Treasury’s Office of Financial Research (OFR) and the House Financial Services Committee probed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, January 28: The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing titled, “The Semi-Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).” CFPB Director Richard Cordray will be the sole witness at the hearing. Tuesday, January 28: The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled, “The … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Releases Volcker Fix Bills House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Representative Shelley Moore Capito, and four other House Republicans introduced the “Fairness for Community Job Creators Act” (H.R. 3819) last week, to exempt all banks, regardless of size, from divesting collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) backed by trust preferred securities (TruPS) under … Continue Reading
