U.S. Financial Regulatory Week Ahead

Written By Francis Kelly

A U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve? The Future of the CFPB, Capital One/Discover Merger Faces One Less Obstacle, and The Future of the Fed’s Dual Mandate is Questioned

March 3 - 7, 2025

The Washington regulatory world continues to get busier by the week. President Trump added more to the mix this past weekend by announcing he was going to create a new U.S. Strategic Reserve of Cryptocurrencies, going so far as to name five digital assets he expects to include in the Reserve. Considering there is no actual regulatory structure around crypto, the announcement will likely significantly turbo-charge Congress’ efforts to pass legislation defining basic regs.

This coming week, the Senate Finance Committee will hold confirmation hearings for Treasury Secretary nominee Michael Faulkender. Last week, the Senate Banking Committee held confirmation hearings for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director nominee Jake McKernan, William Pulte to be the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Stephen Miran to be the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors.

The hearing spotlighted what the Trump Administration wants to do with the CFPB going forward. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and other committee Democrats pressed McKernan for more details. Interestingly, in an interview with Politico on Sunday, the CFPB Chief Operating Officer, Adam Martinez, conceded that the Trump Administration had initially wanted to close the agency, but that was no longer the case.

The CFPB also was in the news last week when it was announced they were dropping an enforcement action against Capital One after having accused the bank in January of cheating customers out of more than $2 billion in interest payments. The move was seen as another positive move toward regulatory approval of Capital One’s acquisition of Discover.

Also last week, Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK), who is chairing the House Financial Services Committee’s Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity Task Force, said he wants to “air it all out” when it comes to looking at the Federal Reserve Board and how effective the Board’s dual mandate of price stability and promoting maximum employment is working while also conducting regulatory supervision of banks. The task force is holding its first hearing tomorrow (Tuesday). We would note this is not a subcommittee, and it is not bipartisan. The members are: Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-03), Rep. Bill Huizenga (MI-04), Rep. Andy Barr (KY-06), Rep. Marlin Stutzman (IN-03), Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05), Rep. Mike Flood (NE-01), Rep. Monica De La Cruz (TX-15), Rep. Troy Downing (MT-02).

Finally, we would note that President Trump’s desire to create a sovereign wealth fund took another step toward reality when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the appointment of J.R. Gibbins as Bessent’s new senior advisor to plan and oversee the fund’s launch. Gibbins previously worked at the Defense Department’s Office of Strategic Capital and, prior to that, at Capstone Partners.

U.S. Congressional Hearings

U.S. Senate

  • Thursday, March 6, 10:00 a.m. – The Senate Finance Committee holds the confirmation hearing for Michael Faulkender to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.

House of Representatives

  • Tuesday, March 4, 10:00 a.m. – The House Financial Services Committee’s Task Force on Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity holds a hearing. You can read the Task Force’s Committee Memorandum HERE.

  • Tuesday, March 4, 2:00 p.m. – The House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance holds a hearing entitled “Building our Future: Increasing Housing Supply in America.”

  • Wednesday, March 5, 10:00 a.m. – The full House Financial Services Committee will meet to mark-up eleven bills. The full list can be found HERE.

Federal Department & Regulatory Agency Meetings & Events

Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks

  • Thursday, March 6, 3:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher J. Waller gives an economic outlook at the Wall Street Journal CFO Network Summit, New York, New York.

  • Friday, March 7, 10:15 a.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle W. Bowman participates in a discussion entitled “Monetary Policy Transmission Post-COVID” at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business 2025 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum in New York.

  • Friday, March 7, 12:20 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana D. Kugler gives a speech entitled” The Rebalancing of Labor Markets Across the World” at the Bank of Portugal’s Conference on Monetary Policy Transmission and the Labor Market, Lisbon, Portugal.

  • Friday, March 7, 12:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell gives a speech on the Economic Outlook at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business 2025 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum in New York.

  • Friday, March 7, 1:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana D. Kugler gives a second speech at the Bank of Portugal’s Conference on Monetary Policy Transmission and the Labor Market, Lisbon, Portugal.

U.S. Treasury Department

  • Thursday, March 6, 12:00 p.m. – Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks at the Economic Club of New York.

Department of Commerce

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Securities and Exchange Commission

Commodities Futures Trading Commission

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

National Credit Union Administration

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

FINRA

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Federal Housing Finance Agency

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Federal Trade Commission & Department of Justice Antitrust Division

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Farm Credit Administration

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Farm Credit Insurance Corporation

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Small Business Administration

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

International Monetary Fund & World Bank

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

North American Securities Administrators Association

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

Trade Associations & Think Tank Events

Trade Associations

Think Tanks and Other Events

  1. Wednesday, March 5, 1:30 p.m. – The Peterson Institute holds a hybrid meeting entitled “USMCA Forward 2025 Launch: Navigating North American Trade Amid Global Changes.”

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