Major Developments
Federal Reserve Board
Michael Barr Confirmed as Fed Vice Chair for Supervision
July 13, 2022
Michael Barr, President Biden’s nominee for Governor and Vice Chair for Supervision at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Congress
U.S. Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Senators Urge Stronger Fed Ethics Rules
July 13, 2022
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, joined Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), in a letter to Chairman Jerome Powell of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) urging stronger investment and trading policies for Federal Reserve officials to improve accountability and transparency.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Financial Services
Hearing: Better Together: Examining the Unified Proposed Rule to Modernize the Community Reinvestment Act
July 13, 2022
The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing entitled, “Better Together: Examining the Unified Proposed Rule to Modernize the Community Reinvestment Act.”
Committee on Small Business
Hearing: Fintech and Transparency in Small Business Lending
July 13, 2022
The U.S. House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Regulations held a hearing entitled, “Fintech and Transparency in Small Business Lending.”
Federal Agencies
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Federal Reserve Board
Report: Beige Book
July 13, 2022
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve published the July 2022 Beige Book.
Paper: The Collateral Premium and Levered Safe-Asset Production
July 13, 2022
The Federal Reserve Board published a paper entitled, “The Collateral Premium and Levered Safe-Asset Production.”
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Underlying Inflation Gauge (UIG) – July 2022
July 13, 2022
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York staff released the July 2022 Underlying Inflation Gauge (UIG) measures.
Blog Post: Do Corporate Profits Increase When Inflation Increases?
July 13, 2022
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published a Liberty Street Economics blog post entitled, “Do Corporate Profits Increase When Inflation Increases?”
Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Proposes Amendments to Shareholder Proposal Rule
July 13, 2022
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to the rule that governs the process for including shareholder proposals in a company’s proxy statement.
SEC Adopts Amendments to Proxy Rules Governing Proxy Voting Advice
July 13, 2022
The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to adopt amendments to its rules governing proxy voting advice, as proposed in November 2021.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham on the CPMI-IOSCO Final Guidance on Stablecoin Arrangements
July 13, 2022
Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Caroline D. Pham made a state regarding international efforts to set standards for the regulation of stablecoins.
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Education Awards Final $198 Million of American Rescue Plan Higher Education Funds to Support Students at Community Colleges, Rural, and Minority-Serving Institutions
July 13, 2022
The U.S. Department of Education awarded the final $198 million in Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund grants.
Bank Policy Institute
BPI Supports CRA Lending Goals, Cautions New Proposal May Stray from the Law’s Core Mission
July 13, 2022
The Bank Policy Institute submitted a written statement to the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions today as the Committee considers potential reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act.
State Agencies
New York State Department of Financial Services
DFS Calls on Federal Loan Servicers to Increase Awareness and Enrollment in Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Before Temporary Program Rules Change
July 13, 2022
The New York State Department of Financial Services has issued letters to federal student loan servicers urging them to adopt best practices to increase awareness and applicants to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program before waived rules that make it easier to have loans forgiven expire on October 31, 2022.
International
European Commission
Implementation of sanctions: Commission provides additional guidance on the transit of goods from Russia
July 13, 2022
The European Commission has published further guidance to Member States on the transit of goods from Russia.
Rule of Law Report 2022: Commission issues specific recommendations to Member States
July 13, 2022
The Commission has published the third annual Rule of Law Report.
Administration Changes
Vacancies
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Chair – Vacant (Martin Gruenberg serves as Acting Chair)
- Vice Chairman – Vacant
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
- Comptroller – Vacant (Michael Hsu serves as Acting Comptroller)
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)
- Vice Chair Lael Brainard (sworn in May 23, 2022)
- Governor Phillip N Jefferson (sworn in May 23, 2022)
- Governor Lisa D. Cook (sworn in May 23, 2022)
- Statement by Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell on his nomination by President Biden (November 22, 2021)
- Statement by Governor Lael Brainard on her nomination by President Biden (November 22, 2021) (sworn in May 23, 2022)
- Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen Statement on Federal Reserve Nominations (November 22, 2021)
- Statement by Secretary Walsh on Federal Reserve Nominations (November 22, 2021)
- Brown Statement on the Renomination of Jerome Powell for Fed Chair (November 22, 2021)
- Toomey Statement on Renomination of Jerome Powell for Fed Chair (November 22, 2021)
- Brown Applauds Biden’s Nomination of Governor Lael Brainard for Vice Chair (November 22, 2021)
- Brown Applauds Biden’s Nominees for Fed Board (January 14, 2022)
- Toomey Statement on President Biden’s Fed Nominees (January 14, 2022)
- Waters Applauds Nominations of Sarah Bloom Raskin, Lisa Cook, and Philip Jefferson to Leadership Roles in the Federal Reserve (January 14, 2022)
- Statement by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen on Federal Reserve Nominations (January 14, 2022)
- Senate Banking Committee Chair Brown Statement on Nomination of Dr. Lisa Cook (March 29, 2022)
- Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Toomey Statement on Nomination of Dr. Lisa Cook (March 29, 2022)
- Senate Banking Committee Chair Brown Statement on Nomination of Michael Barr for Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision (April 15, 2022)
- Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Toomey Statement on Nomination of Michael Barr for Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision (April 15, 2022)
- Senate Banking Committee Chair Statement on Senate Confirmation of Dr. Lisa Cook (May 10, 2022)
- Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Statement on Senate Confirmation of Dr. Lisa Cook (May 10, 2022)
- Jerome H. Powell sworn in for second term as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (May 23, 2022)
- Lael Brainard sworn in as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (May 23, 2022)
- Lisa D. Cook sworn in as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (May 23, 2022)
- Philip N. Jefferson sworn in as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (May 23, 2022)
- Senate Banking Committee Chair Statement Ahead of Confirmation Vote for Michael Barr (July 13, 2022)
Federal Reserve Bank of New York – John C. Williams (effective June 18, 2018)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Martin Gruenberg (Acting Chair, appointed February 5, 2022)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Rohit Chopra (effective October 12, 2021)
Securities and Exchange Commission – Gary Gensler (effective April 17, 2021)
Small Business Administration – Isabella Casillas Guzman (effective March 16, 2021)
Commodity Futures Trade Commission – Rostin Behnam (effective December 17, 2021)
- Kristin Johnson, Nominee for Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (September 13, 2021)
- Christy Goldsmith Romero, Nominee for Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (September 13, 2021)
- U.S. Senate Unanimously Confirms Behnam as Chairman (December 17, 2021)
- CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam Announces Executive Staff Appointments (January 20, 2022)
- CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam Appoints Initial CFTC Leadership (January 25, 2022)
- Statement of CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam on the U.S. Senate Confirmations of Christy Goldsmith Romero, Kristin N. Johnson, Summer Kristine Mersinger, and Caroline D. Pham (March 29, 2022)
- CFTC Commissioner Pham Announces Initial Staff Appointments (April 22, 2022)
- CFTC Commissioner Goldsmith Romero Announces Staff Appointments (April 27, 2022)
- CFTC Commissioner Pham Announces Additional Staff Appointments (May 13, 2022)
- CFTC Commissioner Mersinger Announces Staff Appointments (May 16, 2022)
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
National Credit Union Administration – Todd M. Harper
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Marcia Fudge (effective March 10, 2021)
Federal Housing Finance Agency – Sandra L. Thompson, (confirmed May 25, 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.
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