- Top Lines
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra delivered remarks at a White House roundtable on protecting Americans from harmful data broker practices. In his remarks, Director Chopra announced that the CFPB is launching a rulemaking to develop rules that would define data brokers that sell certain types of consumer data as consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and address whether personally identifying information taken from traditional credit reports is considered a consumer report.
The CFPB plans to publish an outline of proposals and alternatives under consideration for a proposed rule next month and aims to issue a proposed rule in 2024. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton also delivered remarks at the roundtable.
- Weekly Wrap Up
The White House published a statement from President Joe Biden on student loan debt cancellation, announcing that 804,000 borrowers who have been in repayment for over 20 years will start to see their student debt canceled and that the administration aims to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) published its 2023 Risk Review. The report summarizes conditions in the U.S. economy, financial markets, and banking industry. Notably, the FDIC included “Crypto Asset Risk” as one of five broader risk categories in its report.
The Department of the Treasury published an analysis of the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on the law’s one-year anniversary finding that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made significant progress toward upgrading its technology, and ensuring high-income taxpayers, large corporations, and complex partnerships pay taxes owed. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also delivered remarks on the strength of the U.S. economy and the progress achieved since the IRA’s implementation.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released its annual update to the Bank Accounting Advisory Series (BAAS).
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against Rene Larralde, Juan Pablo Valcarce, Brian Early, Alisha Ann Kingrey, and their unincorporated entity, Fundsz, charging them with fraudulent solicitation from clients to purportedly trade in cryptocurrencies and precious metals.
The CFTC announced that it issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Peter L. Bryant and his company, Bryant Capital Trade Management Corporation for allegedly committing fraud while acting as an unregistered commodity trading advisor (CTA) and for failing to register as a CTA.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced six new recipients and $6 million in total funding for the SBA’s Cybersecurity for Small Business Pilot Program. All six grantees are state entities that will assist small businesses in advancing cybersecurity infrastructure and mitigating cyber threats.
Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. secured regulatory approval from the National Futures Association (NFA), a CFTC-designated self-regulatory organization, to operate a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and offer eligible U.S. customers access to crypto futures from their platforms.
Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (R-NC), led House Financial Services Committee Republicans in sending letters to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) President and CEO Robert Cook and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler requesting transparency regarding the approval process of Prometheum Ember Capital LLC as the first and only special purpose broker-dealer for digital assets.
- ICYMI
President Biden issued an executive order (EO) on addressing United States investments in certain national security technologies and products in countries of concern. Specifically, the EO addresses these countries’ developing and exploiting sensitive or advanced technologies and products critical for military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities. The EO provides for the establishment of a new and targeted national security program to be implemented and administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), in consultation with other agencies, including the U.S. Department of Commerce. The program would, pursuant to implementing regulations: (1) require U.S. persons to notify Treasury of certain transactions, and (2) prohibit U.S. persons from undertaking certain other transactions, in either case involving certain entities engaged in activities related to narrow sub-sets of three advanced technology areas identified in the E.O.
The Treasury issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment related to the implementation of the Executive Order.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) issued a statement in response to the EO, commending the Biden Administration for taking a “more thoughtful and targeted approach than initially reported” and calling for Congress to take stronger action to confront the CCP.
Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, also issued a statement welcoming the Biden Administration’s actions but also argued that the EO must be broadened and strengthened.
Need to catch up on what happened last week? Check out our End of Week Wrap Up here.