Dec
2016
ISSUE
No 11
FINANCIAL SERVICES UPDATE
ELECTION IMPACT
Several Paths to Financial Deregulation Possible in 2017 
President-elect Donald Trump and an incoming Republican Congress have a variety of legal methods for carrying out their pledge to roll back the Dodd-Frank Act and other financial regulations.
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Dodd-Frank Likely Target of Emboldened House Financial Panel 
The surprising Republican sweep of Congress and the White House clears a path for House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) to mount a serious challenge to the Dodd-Frank law.
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Senate banking panel likely to target financial regulations
Congressional Review Act May Become Republicans' Go-To Tool 
A common theme for President-elect Trump and congressional Republicans was rolling back regulations issued by the Obama administration . They may turn to the Congressional Review Act as a powerful tool for quickly overturning some of those rules.
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Trump Win Puts a Bullseye on Senator Warren's Bank Watchdog
Republicans have long vilified the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for having scant accountability and writing rules that harm banks. Next year when the party controls both the Congress and White House, they're finally in a position to do something about it.
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Labor Department wins another round in fiduciary rule suits
Trump May Save Banks Billions by Disrupting Global Rules 
Trump's election may allow banks to dodge the full impact of global regulators' post-2008 crisis crackdown. The Basel Committee  on Banking Supervision is raci ng to complete a revamp of international capital standards by year-end.
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Wall Street Bonus Rules Seen as Urgent Ahead of Trump Takeover
Regulators are rushing to issue sweeping limits on Wall Street pay by January, said people familiar with the effort, before President-elect Trump begins replacing officials installed by Barack Obama.
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Wall Street bonus rules seen as urgent ahead of Trump takeover
Fintech Sandboxes May Get Boost From Republican Takeover Fintech entrepreneurs could find more space to experiment with new ideas and products with the advent of an anti-regulation Republican president backed by an anti-regulation Republican Congress.
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SEC Commissioner says agency should lead on fintech regulation
Don't Expect Sweeping Dodd-Frank Repeal, Massad Says
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Timothy Massad said Trump's pledge to dismantle Dodd-Frank could focus on provisions that affect smaller market participants such as community banks and commercial, nonfinancial users of derivatives.
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Swaps industry balks at joining Trump in gutting Dodd-Frank
Wall Street's Mnuchin, Ross Are Trump's Treasury, Commerce Picks 
President-elect Trump said he plans to nominate former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner Steven Mnuchin as the next U.S. Treasury secretary. Trump plans to nominate billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as Commerce secretary.
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Fannie and Freddie should exit government grip, Mnuchin says
Forget Treasury Secretary. this Trump pick matters most to banks
SEC's White Says She Will Step Aside When Obama Leaves Office
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White said she will step down in January after a nearly four-year tenure highlighted by high-profile enforcement cases and plagued by internal battles that stalled controversial policies.
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OCC's Curry says he'll stay until Trump replaces him
CFTC's Massad says he plans to serve out his term as chair
REGULATION
Securities and Exchange Commission
(Nov 1) The SEC offered additional economic analysis for a proposed rule regarding the use of derivatives by registered investment and business development companies.
Securities and Exchange Commission
(Nov 2) The SEC extended from Nov. 6 to Dec. 21 a deadline for its decision on a request by the Chicago Stock Exchange to add a time delay to certain orders.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(Nov 4) The CFTC voted 2-1 to revise its proposal to access traders' secret trading formulas without a government subpoena. The plan is part of a push to keep better tabs on high frequency traders. Comments are due Jan. 24, 2017.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(Nov 10) The CFTC adopted a rule giving futures brokers and swap dealers an additional 30 days to file an annual report on their compliance programs.
Securities and Exchange Commission
(Nov 15)  The SEC approved a plan to build a repository of stock and options trade information to help regulators quickly get to the bottom of why markets crash . A contract to build the data trove, known as the Consolidated Audit Trail, will be awarded within two months.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(Nov 15) FDIC approved a rule requiring big banks to keep data on each depositor to facilitate the rapid payment of insured deposits if the banks failed. The rule will apply to 38 banks with more than 2 million accounts.
Federal Reserve
(Nov 18) The Fed revised an existing rule to expand the number of Fed employees who are subject to a one-year ban on working for a company they've been overseeing.
Department of the Treasury
(Nov 21)  The Federal Insurance Office  said state insurance officials should regulate third-party producers of price-setting information and evaluate insurers' cybersecurity readiness.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(Nov 21) The CFTC approved rule amendments allowing some commodity pool operators organized outside the U.S. to use accounting standards from one of several different countries when filing annual reports and periodic statements for their participants.
Federal Reserve
(Nov 23)  The Fed finalized a rule that reduces the dividend it pays bigger banks , implementing a provision passed over Wall Street protests in a 2015 surface transportation law.
Federal Housing Finance Agency
(Nov 23)  The FHFA said that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2017 will back mortgages of as much as $424,100 in most of the U.S., an increase from $417,000. The increase could make it easier for first-time homebuyers to enter the market.
Securities and Exchange Commission
(Nov 29)  The SEC voted to renew a charter for the Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee until August 2017, extending the expiration date by six months.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
In November, the CFTC issued no-action letters that affect data reporting requirements for a number of foreign swap entities, clearing and trade execution requirements for certain affiliated counterparties, and consolidated risk disclosure statements.
LEGISLATION
Warren Asks If Reports Show Wells Fargo Punished Fired Workers 
(Nov 3) Democratic senators sent a letter questioning whether Wells Fargo & Co. filed misleading disclosures on terminated employees as retaliation for complaints about its aggressive sales practices. 
In Possible 2017 Preview, House to Consider Bill on Systemic Risk
(Nov 25) The House was scheduled to vote Dec. 1 on a bill that could alter the way large banks are designated as systemically important by the Financial Stability Oversight Council and subject to extra regulation under the Dodd-Frank Act.
OTHER ACTIONS
(Nov 1) The CFPB's prepaid card rules will require mobile wallet businesses to reimburse  customers who are victims of fraud-and set aside the money to do so.
Fannie-Freddie shed risk as capital cushion shrinks toward zero
(Nov 3) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say that the mortgages they back are the safest they've been in years, although some advocates are worried the companies won't have enough margin for error after their capital buffers get cut in half on Jan. 1.
OCC's Curry joins U.S. regulators skeptical of fintech sandbox
(Nov 3) Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry added his voice to the rejection by regulators of relaxed-rules "sandboxes" for promoting technological innovation in financial services.
GAO: U.S. regulators need to harmonize approach to stress tests
(Nov 15) The Government Accountability Office said the OCC has been more likely than other regulators to give banks extensions and grant exemptions from stress test requirements.
SEC enforcement activity at record high
(Nov 15) SEC actions against public companies or their subsidiaries have grown exponentially over the last four fiscal years. The increase is attributable to SEC Chair Mary Jo White's renewed focus on investigating financial reporting and accounting fraud.
Fed's Kashkari releases four-step plan to end too big to fail
(Nov 16) Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari released a plan to increase capital requirements for big banks and impose a tax on the borrowings of large shadow banks.
Largest futures clearingouses pass CFTC stress tests
(Nov 16) The CFTC issued a report that said the five largest registered clearinghouses have ample resources to withstand highly stressful market events.
General Counsel Sexton will head NFA, replacing Daniel Roth
(Nov 18) Thomas Sexton will replace Daniel Roth as head of the National Futures Association, the futures industry's self-regulatory organization.

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