Legislation

In a release last week, President Joe Biden announced plans designed to ease the burden of housing costs. This will be done by increasing the supply of quality housing in “every community.”

Republicans criticized the plan for perceived failures to promote new construction and for using Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to promote a political agenda.

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The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions held hearings to discuss and garner testimony from expert witnesses on overdraft and nonsufficient funds fees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau previously announced its intentions to address what it perceived as harmful “junk fees.”

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In the 2023 budget proposal submitted to Congress, the White House has indicated it is anticipating strong performance for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has made legislative proposals to Congress relating to reverse mortgages to coincide with the White House budget.

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Cannabis is a controlled substance and illegal under federal law. Because of this, it is impossible for anyone in the cannabis industry to obtain government-backed loans; and lenders open themselves up to legal issues if they have clients in the cannabis industry.

Recently, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances and modify the way in which its usage, and the billions of dollars the industry produces, are regulated.

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The United States Senate Republican Policy Committee has released a policy paper setting forth the GOP’s current policy position on cryptocurrency. The paper looks at the potential benefits and risks of cryptocurrency and relating technology becoming more mainstream.

The paper also makes note of President Joe Biden and other Democrats for their approach to cryptocurrency regulation.

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Less than a month after President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the executive branch of the federal government to assess the potential risks and benefits of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), members of Congress have begun acting in response.

While Democrat members of Congress are looking to support the president’s push for a CBDC, their Republican counterparts are pushing new legislation to limit the federal government’s ability to create a digital currency.

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Banks, credit unions, bankers’ associations and consumer groups have sent a letter to the chair and ranking members of the House Committee on Financial Services calling for legislation to close the industrial loan company loophole which exists in current law.

The letter expresses concerns over the growth of technology companies that have entered the finance and lending industries.

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Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) are developing bipartisan legislation designed to establish a regulatory framework for the crypto industry. The senators are trying to address safety and consumer protection concerns while providing stability and oversight to the digital asset markets.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has also spoken publicly for the first time about the role Treasury will take in the future crypto regulatory framework; and SEC Chair Gary Gensler continues his efforts to expand investor protections in the crypto markets.

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The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held hearings on mandatory arbitration in financial services.

This comes as Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chair of the committee, has introduced legislation intended to limit the ability to use mandatory arbitration in certain financial services.

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President Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to examine the legal and economic ramifications of creating a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC). The order sets a 180-day deadline for a series of reports on “the future of money.”

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