- Top Lines
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra delivered remarks in a fireside chat at the Exchequer Club of Washington, DC. Director Chopra discussed the CFPB’s mandate to ensure competitive markets. He stated that Buy Now, Pay Later products are “largely being used as a substitute for credit cards,” and that the CFPB “will be looking at ways to ensure appropriate parity.” He also discussed the supervision of nonbanks, stating that many “touch millions or tens of millions of consumers but are not subject to the same level of oversight as chartered banks and credit unions.” He said that the CFPB is already making use of a dormant authority to accomplish this.
House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) and Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), a fellow subcommittee member, issued statements following the introduction of H.R. 8950, the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022, the House counterpart to the bipartisan S. 4760 introduced by Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR), to close regulatory gaps and provide regulatory authority over digital commodities to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- Weekly Wrap Up
The U.S. Department of the Treasury published a Request for Comment (RFC) to seek feedback on the illicit finance and national security risks posed by digital assets. The filing is pursuant to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order, “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets” and the subsequent Action Plan to Address Illicit Financing Risks of Digital Assets published last week.
The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) is negotiating a draft legislative proposal that would enable subsidiaries of insured depository institutions (IDIs), nonbank entities (nonbanks), and state-approved payment stablecoin issuers to apply for federal licensure to issue payment stablecoins.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) met to discuss the preparation of its report in response to the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, due October 2022, a presentation from Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) staff on the agency’s upcoming review of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, the development of the FSOC’s 2022 annual report, adn vote on its fiscal year 2023 budget. It also voted to approve the minutes of its July 28 meeting.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) met to discuss the preparation of its report in response to the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, due October 2022, a presentation from Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) staff on the agency’s upcoming review of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, the development of the FSOC’s 2022 annual report, adn vote on its fiscal year 2023 budget. It also voted to approve the minutes of its July 28 meeting.
The CFPB issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking information on mortgage refinances and forbearances. The RFI seeks comment from the public about ways to (1) facilitate mortgage refinances for consumers who would benefit from refinancing, especially consumers with smaller loan balances; and (2) reduce risks for consumers who experience disruptions in their financial situation that could interfere with their ability to remain current on their mortgage payments.
The CFPB posted a blog discussing the potential credit impact of high vehicle costs for consumers. They stated they are particularly concerned about the impact of these changes on consumers’ financial health, especially for consumers with near-prime or subprime credit scores.
The Federal Trade Commission released a report showing how companies are increasingly using sophisticated design practices known as “dark patterns” that can trick or manipulate consumers into buying products or services or giving up their privacy. The report highlighted the FTC’s efforts to combat the use of dark patterns in the marketplace and reiterated the agency’s commitment to taking action against tactics designed to trick and trap consumers.
CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero delivered remarks expressing concern about the CFTC’s practice of not seeking admissions of wrongdoing when settling the overwhelming majority of enforcement cases. She proposed that the agency use a Heightened Enforcement Accountability and Transparency (HEAT) Test to require more defendants to admit wrongdoing in CFTC enforcement settlements.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the approval of California’s application for funding under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) for up to $1.1 billion, the largest funding amount that has been approved in the SSBCI program.
The HFSC Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy held a hearing discussing alternative payment systems and their impact on national security. The hearing addressed the importance of maintaining U.S. dollar dominance, the financial threats of China, central bank digital currencies (CBDC), and privacy concerns related to alternative payment systems, as well as the utility of sanctions to mitigate illicit financing activities. Read our hearing summary here.
The CFPB released its annual report on residential mortgage lending activity and trends for 2021.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board unanimously approved a notice of proposed rulemaking on Federal Credit Union Bylaws, Member Expulsion and a notice of proposed rulemaking on subordinated debt.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors urged the Biden Administration to put forth an FDIC Board candidate who has state bank supervisory experience as required by federal law, stating “it is important for the FDIC Board to represent the entire system it oversees, including state-chartered banks, which make up 79% of the nation’s banks.”
- ICYMI
Last week, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Commerce (Commerce), and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) within The White House published reports that follow from the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets (the EO).