U.S. Financial Regulatory Week Ahead
January 15 - 19, 2024
It may be a federal holiday on Monday, but the remaining four days of the week will be busy and quite interesting for the Washington regulatory world.
First, we would highlight the battle outside and inside the Federal Reserve on the proposed bank capital rule, which intensifies this week as Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman participates in a U.S. Chamber of Commerce-sponsored conference critical of the proposal. Bowman has intensified her criticism of the 1,087-page plan quarterbacked by Fed Vice Chairman for Supervision Michael Barr. Barr has been barnstorming the speaking circuit lately, defending the plan, the most recent being a talk he gave in Washington last week (which, interestingly and oddly, was never added to the official Federal Reserve Board calendar of speaking events).
At that event, Barr seemed to relent a bit on the outcome of the proposal, saying the Fed is taking the comment period very seriously and that “it will help us, I think, shape a better rule – make sure we get the calibration right for mortgage products, for credit card products, for consumer products.”
The Fed (and Barr) will co-host a conference this week with MIT (at MIT) on cybersecurity and banking, which should prove informative of where the Fed plans to go on tightening bank cyber requirements.
Also, this coming week, SEC Chair Gary Gensler will do a fireside chat at the left-of-center consumer rights organization Public Citizen on the future of AI in finance and how it might be regulated.
Meanwhile, the SEC’s proposed climate disclosure rules come under the microscope at a House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing. House Republicans have made pushing back on ESG in general in finance – and the regulations regulators are contemplating around it – a top priority in 2024.
Below is a listing of all the issues and events U.S. regulators are engaged in this week, along with relevant think tank and trade association events. Please let us know if you have any questions.
U.S. Congressional Hearings
U.S. Senate
January 17, 2:30 p.m. – The Joint Economic Committee holds a hearing on "Rebuilding the American Dream: Policy Approaches to Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing."
January 18, 10:00 a.m. – The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing entitled “National Security Challenges: Outpacing China in Emerging Technology.” The witness will be Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.
House of Representatives
January 17, 10:00 a.m. – The House Financial Services Committee’s National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the International Financing of Nuclear Energy.
January 18, 10:00 a.m. – the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing entitled “ The SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rule: A Future of Legal Hurdles.”
January 18, 10:00 a.m. – The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Unleashing Main Street’s Potential: Examining Avenues to Capital Access.”
U.S Regulatory Meetings & Events
Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks
January 16, 11:00 a.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller will give an Economic Outlook at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
January 17, 9:00 a.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman will participate in a fireside chat with the US Chamber of Commerce’s Senior Vice President Bill Hulse at the Chamber’s “Protect Main Street Lending” conference to discuss the Basel III ‘Endgame’” in Washington, D.C.
January 17, 9:30 a.m. – Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr will give opening remarks at the 2nd Annual Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Federal Reserve System Conference on Measuring Cyber Risk in the Financial Services Sector in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He will be followed by Federal Reserve Deputy Director for Policy, Supervision, and Regulation Arthur Lindo, who will give a keynote speech on Cyber Risk.
U.S. Treasury Department
No significant events are scheduled at this time.
Securities and Exchange Commission
January 18, 2024, 2:00 p.m. – The SEC will hold a Closed Meeting.
January 17, 1:00 p.m. – SEC Chair Gary Gensler will participate in a fireside chat with Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen on “AI and Financial Services Policy.” This will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
Commodities Futures Trading Commission
9:30 a.m. EST/2:30 p.m. GMT+1 – CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham will participate in a fireside chat on U.S. innovation and regulation at GBBC’s 7th Annual Blockchain Central Davos in Davos, Switzerland.
10:30 a.m. EST/4:30 GMT+1 – CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham will be recognized at “Women Who Lead” and participate in a panel discussion, “Crypto at a Crossroads: Future-proofing Digital Assets” at Bloomberg House Davos, in Davos, Switzerland.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
No significant events are scheduled at this time.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
January 18, 9:30 a.m. – Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu will offer remarks on bank liquidity at Columbia Law School in New York City. A question-and-answer session will follow his remarks.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
No significant events are scheduled at this time.
National Credit Union Administration
January 18, 10:00 a.m. – The NCUA Board will hold a meeting. The agenda has not yet been released.
Federal Trade Commission & Department of Justice Antitrust Division
No significant events are scheduled at this time.
Farm Credit Administration
No significant events are scheduled at this time.
Trade Associations & Think Tank Events
Trade Association Events
January 17, 8:00 a.m. – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets holds a discussion on "Protect Main Street Lending," focusing on Basel III regulations that would increase the amount of capital that large banks must hold. Representative Andy Barr (R-KY-6), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy, and Representative Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy, will both speak in the morning. In the afternoon, Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman will participate in a fireside chat on the subject.
January 17, 12:00 p.m. – Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson will speak at the Exchequer Club in Washington, D.C.
Think Tanks/Academic Events
January 16-17: The MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative will host the 2nd MIT/Federal Reserve Board of Governors Conference on Measuring Cyber Risk in the Financial Services Sector in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A number of regulators will speak, including Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Michael Barr.
January 16, 9:30 a.m. – The Institute for International Finance will hold an online event (in Spanish) entitled “Argentina’s Economic and Policy Outlook.”
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