FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
FHFA ‘simplifies’ process for Federal Home Loan Bank funding for rental projects
The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued an advisory bulletin that it said would simplify the process of applying for funding for rental projects through the Federal Home Loan Banks’ affordable housing programs.
FHFA updates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac policies on appraisals, loan repurchase alternatives
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced updates to several Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac policies that the agency said are intended to promote cost savings in the single-family mortgage market.
FS-ISAC releases guide for financial institutions on ransomware defense
The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center published a guide to help financial institutions guard themselves against ransomware attacks. The guide focuses on ransomware mitigation best practices, incident response and crisis management, considerations for paying ransoms, and resources for further study.
FSB concerned about lack of stablecoin regulation
The Financial Stability Board reiterated its calls for countries to regulate stablecoins due to concerns about users losing confidence in the form of cryptocurrency, which could lead to runs on issuers. In an update to its G20 Crypto-Asset Policy Roadmap, the FSB said:
- The continued growth of crypto markets and their increasing interlinkages with the traditional financial system could present systemic risks.
- Cross-border crypto-asset activities that originate from offshore jurisdictions present elevated regulatory and supervisory challenges.
- The prevalence of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations significantly undermines efforts to implement international standards on crypto assets.
The FSB recently told the G20 that more than half of jurisdictions expect to reach alignment with the FSB global regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities by 2025.
Gruenberg: Orderly resolutions without systemic risk exception needed
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg said there is a need for meaningful action to improve the likelihood of orderly resolutions of large regional banks without the expectation of invoking the systemic risk exception. Speaking in Germany, Gruenberg said the FDIC and other financial regulatory agencies are taking steps toward that goal, including via a long-term-debt requirement for large regional banks. Under the proposal, newly defined category II, III and IV large banking organizations would join category I systemically important financial institutions in holding sufficient levels of long-term debt issued to third parties, which regulators could use to resolve large institutions in the event of insolvency.
FDIC deposit request could lead to new reporting: Gruenberg
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. request for information on different types of deposits will help the agency better understand the dynamics of deposit funding, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said. In his remarks, Gruenberg said the RFI, which focuses particularly on uninsured deposits, will help the FDIC understand whether different reporting on these types of deposits could enhance risk and liquidity monitoring. The RFI focuses on deposit data that is not currently reported in the call report or other regulatory reports, including for uninsured deposits. Citing the impact of uninsured deposits on the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York, the request seeks information on:
- The characteristics that affect the stability and franchise value of different types of deposits.
- Whether additional reporting could enhance monitoring, inform analysis of additional deposit insurance coverage for certain types of deposits, and improve risk sensitivity of deposit insurance pricing.
The FDIC recently extended the comment period on the RFI until Dec. 6.