FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Republican lawmakers urge SEC to rescind crypto accounting restrictions on banks
More than 40 House and Senate Republicans urged Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler to rescind a staff accounting bulletin that changed how banks and other publicly traded entities were expected to account for digital assets held in custody.
Fed’s Bowman explains why she didn’t support recent rate cut
Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said that she didn’t support the Federal Open Market Committee’s recent decision to trim rates by 50 basis points because it may have sent the wrong message about the economy and caused the public to expect similar cuts in the future.
CFPB proposes changes to remittance disclosures
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a “narrowly tailored” rule to amend disclosure requirements for certain international money transfers, or remittances.
CFPB issues advisory on medical debt collection
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an advisory opinion that said debt collectors, which may include third-party “revenue cycle management” companies, are violating federal law when they collect on inaccurate or legally invalid medical debts. The CFPB said these illegal practices include:
- double-dipping to get paid for services already covered by insurance;
- hounding consumers to pay fake or exaggerated charges;
- misrepresenting consumers’ rights to contest bills; and
- collecting on debts without documentation that the amount is actually owed.
The advisory is the latest CFPB action on medical debt. The agency this summer proposed a rule to ban medical bills from people’s credit reports.
FHFA proposes rule to expand FHLBank access to liquidity
The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a proposed rule that would amend its regulation of Federal Home Loan Bank unsecured credit limits. The FHFA’s proposal would:
- modify limits on the FHLBanks’ extensions of unsecured credit in their on- and off-balance sheet and derivative transactions;
- add interest-bearing deposit accounts and other authorized overnight investments to an overnight federal funds exclusion from restrictions on unsecured credit; and
- clarify terms for the FHLBanks to determine limits on unsecured credit to counterparties.
FHFA said the proposed rule would allow the FHLBanks to better manage and respond to the intraday liquidity needs of their members. The proposed rule follows last week’s FHFA’s advisory bulletin to the FHLBanks that details expectations for providing members with access to advances in a safe and sound manner.