Washington Report 360 | March 1, 2019

Key highlights

• The CFTC and the Bank of England agreed to coordinate on specific measures to provide continuity in the derivatives markets following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
• An SEC Commissioner revealed that 90 percent of known cyber attacks at public companies were not disclosed in regulatory filings.
• The CFPB announced a system for prepaid account issuers to submit their account agreements to the Bureau.
• The Federal Reserve is expected to soon release its proposal for prudential standards and regulatory capital and liquidity requirements applicable to foreign banking organizations and their intermediate holding companies.

Financial services legislative and regulatory news

The CFPB:

• Announced a submission system, Collect, that prepaid account issuers are to use for submitting their account agreements to the Bureau, as required by the Prepaid Accounts Rule; agreements offered as April 1, 2019 must be submitted by May 1, 2019.
• Published a report on suspicious activity reports filed by banks and money services businesses and identified as “elder financial exploitation,” highlighting a “fourfold increase” in related monthly SARs between 2013 and 2017.

FINRA sought public comment on the “effectiveness and efficiency” of its Rule 4370, Business Continuity Plans and Emergency Contact Information.

The Federal Reserve is expected to soon release its proposal for prudential standards and regulatory capital and liquidity requirements applicable to foreign banking organizations and their intermediate holding companies. (Risk.net)

The Senate Banking Committee advanced the nomination of Mark Calabria to serve a five-year term as director of the FHFA.

The House Financial Services Committee conducted a hearing on the credit reporting industry and the FCRA.

In testimony before Congress, the Federal Reserve Chair discussed capital levels, the impact of CECL, and the need for clarity on federal cannabis regulation.  (American Banker, CNBC, WSJ)

Financial services policy news

The CFTC and the Bank of England, including the PRA and the FCA, agreed to coordinate on specific measures to provide continuity in the derivatives markets following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

An SEC Commissioner revealed that 90 percent of known cyber attacks at public companies were not disclosed in regulatory filings; the Commissioner advocates companies immediately disclosing hacks in formal filings. (WSJ)

A CFTC Commissioner proposed an alternative approach to reforming the swap execution facilities framework, separate from the CFTC’s November 2018 proposal.

The GAO publicly released:

• A report on large bank supervision and the risk of regulatory capture, the second in a series. Recommendations addressed conflicts of interest, reassessment of the ethics program, and documentation.
• A report on promoting diversity in the financial services industry (note: topic of a House Financial Services Committee hearing).