FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Senate passes bipartisan housing package
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill seeking to boost housing supply by removing regulatory barriers and creating incentives for communities that build more homes. It now heads to the House.
Fed’s Bowman outlines proposed bank capital rules
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman previewed a series of proposed bank capital reforms she said would reduce capital requirements for large banks by a small amount and result in “slightly larger” reductions for smaller banks.
FDIC’s Hill outlines policy proposals on stablecoin insurance, bank failures
In coming months, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will seek to clarify that payment stablecoins are not eligible for FDIC pass-through insurance, end restrictions preventing nonbanks from purchasing failed banks and pursue several changes to its supervision programs, agency Chairman Travis Hill said at the American Bankers Association Washington Summit.
Bowman: Kraken master account approval was ‘pilot’ for nonbank access to Fed system
The decision of the Kansas City Fed to approve a limited master account for crypto firm Kraken was designed as a "pilot" to test how certain kinds of nonbanks can access the payments system, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said at the American Bankers Association Washington Summit.
FFIEC removes references to reputational risk in BSA/AML manual
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council recently announced that it has removed all references to reputational risk in its Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual.
Treasury Department publishes reports on money laundering, digital assets
The Treasury Department recently announced the publication of three reports on efforts to combat financial crimes. It also released a report to Congress on technologies that financial institutions use to counter illicit finance involving digital assets.
ICBA, ABA and others request extension of comment period for GENIUS Act proposal
The Independent Community Bankers of America, American Bankers Association and other groups requested that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency extend the deadline for public comments on its proposed rule on implementing GENIUS Act provisions on issuing payment stablecoins.
In a joint letter to the OCC, the groups said:
- The OCC should extend the comment period by 60 days, for a total comment period of 120 days after publication in the Federal Register.
- The existing 60-day comment period is insufficient to effectively examine and comment on 376 pages of material, over 200 questions and more than 1,000 sub-questions.
- The proposed rule could have serious and significant implications for financial institutions and the financial system more broadly.
- Banking groups need additional time to properly analyze the Notice of Public Rulemaking and provide useful input.
The OCC last month requested comment on a proposed rule to implement provisions of the GENIUS Act regarding the issuance of payment stablecoins.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last month announced a 90-day extension of the comment period for its proposed rule on application procedures for FDIC-supervised institutions seeking to issue payment stablecoins, following an extension request from ICBA and other groups.