A much-anticipated Senate vote to confirm the next consumer financial protection bureau director is among the top items slated for the coming week, along with speeches about financial stability and monetary policy by the chairman and vice chairman of the nation’s central bank and a Senate committee hearing on money laundering and other forms of illicit finance.
The Senate is poised to vote early this week on the confirmation of Kathleen (“Kathy”) Kraninger to be permanent director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP, formerly known as CFPB). Kraninger was nominated June 20 by President Donald Trump to fill the post, which is occupied currently in acting capacity by John (“Mick”) Mulvaney, who is also Kraninger’s current boss at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Kraninger testified on her nomination July 19 before the Senate Banking Committee, which cast a party-line vote (13 for, 12 against) the following month in reporting her nomination favorably to the full Senate.
Kraninger, expected to win confirmation, would be the first permanent director since Richard Cordray resigned about a year ago. (Corday ran for governor of Ohio and lost earlier this month.)
Kraninger is one of five nominees on the Senate’s agenda for unanimous consent. The Senate is scheduled to convene at 3 p.m. ET today to resume consideration of the president’s nomination of Stephen Alexander Vaden to be general counsel of the Department of Agriculture. Kraninger’s nomination is expected to get action by Tuesday.
Here are more details on the week ahead:
Tuesday
- A speech on “Data Dependence and U.S. Monetary Policy” by Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Richard Clarida is scheduled from 8:30 – 9 a.m. ET at the Clearing House and Bank Policy Institute 2018 Annual Conference in New York, N.Y.
Wednesday
- Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome (“Jay”) Powell gives remarks on “The Federal Reserve’s Framework for Monitoring Financial Stability” before the Economic Club of New York (in New York City). Powell’s speech, scheduled to run from noon to 12:30 p.m., will be streamed live.
- From 2 – 3:30 p.m., the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) holds a teleconference on implications of the FDIC 2017 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. Other topics to be discussed include economic inclusion resources pertinent to community banks, including the Money Smart for Adults financial education program; and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration for activities that benefit underserved communities. (Register here by Nov. 27.)
Thursday
- A Senate Banking Committee hearing, “Combating Money Laundering and Other Forms of Illicit Finance: Regulator and Law Enforcement Perspectives on Reform,” is set to run from 10 a.m. – noon. Witnesses will be Kenneth A. Blanco, Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), U.S. Department of Treasury; Steven D’Antuono, Section Chief, Financial Crimes Section, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Grovetta Gardineer, Senior Deputy Comptroller for Compliance and Community Affairs, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The hearing will be webcast live.