- Top Lines
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra delivered remarks at the Better Markets Conference on the 15th Anniversary of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Onset of the Global Financial Crisis. Director Chopra discussed lessons learned from the 2008 financial crisis and the CFPB’s upcoming Supreme Court case and urged regulators to review whether this is an appropriate tool to address the risks posed by uninsured balances on popular nonbank payment apps.
Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Financial Service Committee’s Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion, reintroduced H.R. 5410, the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware (ECASH) Act, which would develop an electronic version of the U.S. Dollar for use by the American public. In addition, Rep. Lynch announced the creation of the Digital Dollar Caucus to keep Congress updated on critical issues related to the digital dollar including its development, role in promoting financial inclusion, privacy and data security, fraud prevention, payment system efficiency, and other factors.
- End of Week Wrap Up
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, and senior administration officials convened industry leaders at the White House to announce that the Administration has secured a second round of voluntary commitments from eight companies—Adobe, Cohere, IBM, Nvidia, Palantir, Salesforce, Scale AI, and Stability—to help drive safe, secure, and trustworthy development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The CFPB issued a new report finding that students face risk when entering into agreements with colleges to spread the upfront cost of tuition into several, interest-free loan payments. The report found that many payment plans have inconsistent disclosures and confusing repayment terms, putting students at risk of missing payments, incurring late fees, and accumulating debt.
The CFPB updated its frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the small business lending rule. Specifically, FAQs 3 and 6 in the Small Businesses section and each FAQ in the Firewall and Record Retention sections were updated.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published its Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities for the second quarter of 2023. The cumulative trading revenue of U.S. commercial banks and savings associations was $13.7 billion. The second quarter trading revenue was $3.9 billion, or 22.4 percent, less than in the previous quarter, and $3.3 billion, or 31.7 percent, more than in the second quarter of 2022.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) published its Q2 2023 state-level credit union data report, the Quarterly U.S. Map Review, finding, among other things, that the median growth rate in loans outstanding and membership at federally insured credit unions was positive over the year ending in the second quarter of 2023, while the growth rate in assets and shares and deposits was negative at the median.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a consumer alert on student loan scams as student loan payments are set to resume in October. The alert warns of scammers who may offer to help borrowers avoid repayment, lower their payments, or get their loans forgiven for a price.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) held a closed-door congressional AI Insight Forum, convening Tech CEOs, civil rights advocates, and union leaders to consider AI regulation.
House Financial Services Committee Republicans, led by Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), sent a letter to Federal Reserve (Fed) Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg, and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu. In the letter, Committee Republicans demand that the regulators withdraw their Basel III Endgame proposal, stating that it is misguided due to its flawed scope, depth, motivation, and process.
Nine additional Senators have signed on to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023 (a.k.a. the Warren-Marshall AML bill). The bill seeks to impose anti-money laundering requirements on self-hosted wallet providers, digital asset miners, validators, and nodes that act to validate or secure third-party transactions and others facilitating or providing services related to the exchange, sale, custody, or lending of digital assets (typically referred to as ancillary service providers).
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam urging them to “strengthen transparency in cryptocurrency markets to protect Americans’ money.”
The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the Oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Members discussed a wide range of topics including AI risks, ESG disclosures, cryptocurrency protections, and recent SEC proposals. Overall, Democrat members argued for more consumer protections and SEC oversight on digital assets, while Republican members emphasized the need for continued innovation as we move towards a digital economy. Read our summary here.
Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Sherrod Brown reintroduced legislation to require publicly traded companies to disclose information regarding workforce management metrics, including investments made in skills training, workforce safety, and employee retention. The bill text is available here.
- ICYMI
Dr. Philip N. Jefferson, Dr. Lisa D. Cook, and Dr. Adriana D. Kugler were sworn in as Vice Chair, Governor, and Governor, respectively, of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB). Vice Chair Jefferson’s term term as Vice Chair ends on September 7, 2027, and his term as a Board member ends on January 31, 2036; Governor Cook’s term as a member of the Board ends on January 31, 2038; and Governor Kugler’s term as a member of the Board ends on January 31, 2026.
Need to catch up on what happened earlier this week? Check out our Midweek Update here.