A hearing on a high-profile nomination and testimony (twice) from the leader of the nation’s central bank are among the highlights of this week’s activities affecting federal financial institution regulation.
The nomination of Kathleen “Kathy” Kraninger to be the next permanent director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP, formerly known as the CFPB) will be considered by the Senate Banking Committee Thursday at 10 a.m. ET. Kraninger, 43, was nominated for the position by President Donald Trump on June 20. If confirmed by the Senate, she would replace John “Mick” Mulvaney in leading the bureau; Mulvaney has been serving as acting director since November, when Trump appointed him to replace Richard Cordray, who resigned.
Also during the week:
- Monday, July 16: Deadline for comments on the 12th, and final, “request for information” (RFI) on how the agency is performing its mandate. The final RFI focuses on the bureau’s consumer complaint and consumer inquiry handling processes. As of Friday, the RFI had generated 599 comments – the fourth-largest number of comments generated among the 12 RFIs (with three days to go). All told, the RFIs have generated more than 88,000 comments since January.
- Tuesday, July 17 (10 a.m.): Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome H. “Jay” Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee for the “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress.” The twice-annual report is mandated by the 1978 “Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act,” which requires the Fed to formally report to Congress on its activities. A report is also given before the House Financial Services Committee (which will be on Wednesday). Tuesday’s testimony was preceded by the release Friday of the Fed’s Monetary Policy Report, which (among other things) noted that the U.S. financial system remains “substantially more resilient” than 20 years ago, the decade before the financial crisis of 2008.
- Tuesday, July 17 (2 p.m.): The House financial institutions and consumer credit subcommittee holds a hearing on “Examining Capital Regimes for Financial Institutions.” The hearing, according to the committee memo, will “examine the existing regulatory structure for prudentially regulated financial institutions and explore avenues that Congress and the regulators can address through legislative and regulatory policy changes.” Among the four witnesses scheduled to appear: former Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika.
- Wednesday, July 18, 10 a.m.: The House Financial Services Committee hosts Fed Chairman Powell for its “Humphrey-Hawkins” (monetary policy) update.
- Wednesday, July 18, 2 p.m.: The House monetary policy and trade subcommittee holds a hearing on “The Future of Money: Digital Currency.”
- Wednesday, July 18, 2 p.m.: The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) hosts the first of two webinars for credit union professionals (and volunteer directors) interested in learning more about the workings of federal share insurance. (Part Two is in August.) The Part One webinar will provide a basic understanding of share insurance.
- Thursday, July 19, 9 a.m.: Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles provides pre-recorded introductory remarks to the Alternative Reference Rates Committee Roundtable, Federal Reserve Bank of New York (in New York City).
For additional details, see the “Calendar” section of this website.