STATE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Special Session to Start July 25
Indiana lawmakers report they have consulted with Gov. Eric Holcomb regarding the convening date of the upcoming special session, initially scheduled for July 6. Accordingly, the special session to address abortion issues and taxpayer refunds has been pushed to July 25.
Register for 2022 IBA Regional Meetings
The IBA is once again hosting a series of regional meetings around the state to facilitate grassroots communication between the bankers we serve and the legislators who serve our state. The meetings will include an hour-long update on the IBA, including legislative information and advocacy opportunities. Following the update, local legislators from the Indiana General Assembly will meet for lunch with bankers from the community. Five regional meetings remain, each beginning at 11:00 a.m. local time. Below are the dates, locations and registration links of each regional meeting.
Merrillville – July 19
Cooper’s Hawk
2120 Southlake Mall
Merrillville, IN 46410
West Lafayette – July 20
Walt’s Pub & Grill
1050 Kalberer Road
West Lafayette, IN 47906
New Albany – August 4
The Exchange Pub
118 W Main Street
New Albany, IN 47150
Richmond – August 29
Olde Richmond Inn
138 South 5th Street
Richmond, IN 47374
Bloomington – August 30
Graduate Hotel
210 East Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47408
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
GDP Drops 1.6% in Q1: Final Estimate
Real gross domestic product declined at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s final estimate released Wednesday. GDP increased 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021. According to the Commerce Department's final estimate, real gross domestic product declined at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter. The updated first-quarter estimate reflected decreases in federal government spending, private inventory investment, and state and local government spending. At the same time, imports, a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
Powell Delivers Upbeat Message on Economy
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has spoken optimistically about prospects for economic growth and has expressed confidence that inflation can be controlled without spurring a recession. While many economists have said continued interest-rate increases would make a recession inevitable, Powell has told a European Central Bank gathering avoiding a recession "is our aim, and we believe there are pathways to achieve that."
OCC Announces Changes to Executive Committee Membership
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last Friday announced several key changes to its executive committee membership.
Senior Deputy Comptroller for Supervision Risk and Analysis Blake Paulson will retire effective Aug. 31. Jay Gallagher, deputy comptroller for systemic risk identification support and specialty supervision, will serve in an acting capacity effecting July 1.
Senior Deputy Comptroller for Midsize and Community Bank Supervision Sydney Menefee also will depart the agency. Beverly Cole, the deputy comptroller for the Northeast district, has been named acting senior deputy controller for MCBS.
Kathy Murphy, senior deputy comptroller for management and chief financial officer, will participate in an OCC sabbatical program for executives and will spend "up to one year" in the program. Peggy Sherry, principal deputy comptroller for management and deputy chief financial officer, will serve in the role in an acting capacity.
CFPB: States Can Write Their Own Credit Reporting Rules
A statement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has emphasized that individual states are authorized to create their own rules on credit reporting and need not be constricted by existing federal laws. Citing examples, the CFPB indicated that states can require credit reporting bureaus to provide materials in multiple languages and can tell companies to omit medical debt, evictions, arrest records, or rental arrears from credit reports.
CFPB Lays Groundwork to Curb Big Tech Data Practices
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra is assembling strategies and legislative tools to bolster the agency's supervision of the data collection and sales methods of tech giants such as Facebook parent Meta. Former CFPB senior counsel and special advisor Richard Horn says Chopra "looks like he's taking his time to set up the chess pieces on the board," adding: "That's probably why we haven't seen a lot of enforcement actions, in terms of quantity, because those investigations take a ton of research and back-and-forth between CFPB attorneys and Big Tech companies in general."