Financial trade advocates joined together to detail their
opposition to the treatment of digital assets under a policy enacted by the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) more than two years ago. The four
trade organizations called on Congress to do away with the policy in a recent
comment letter.
Additionally, a recent hearing about the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rulemaking activities on various fees served as an
opportunity for one trade group to reiterate its strong opposition to what it contends
to be the bureau’s politically motivated policy agenda.
Read about these industry developments and more in this
roundup.
Banking trades support overturning SEC bulletin on crypto
In a joint letter to House leaders, the American
Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, the Financial Services Forum
and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association support for a
joint resolution to overturn an SEC staff accounting bulletin (SAB 121) that
changes the way banks and other publicly traded entities are expected to
account for digital assets held in custody.
The trades contended the bulletin, published in March 2022, “effectively
precludes banks from offering digital asset custody at scale since placing the
value of client assets on their balance sheets will impact certain capital,
liquidity and other prudential requirements.” They also argued that “SAB 121
undercuts the ability of banks to develop responsible use cases for distributed
ledger technology and encumbers regulated broker-dealers from custody services
as a result of the net capital rule, which treats the on-balance sheet items as
non-allowable assets.”
The House recently approved the resolution by a 228-182 margin
with support from members of both parties. Read the trades’ full comment letter
here.
CBA details opposition to CFPB fees ahead of Senate
committee hearing
Ahead of a recent hearing before the Senate Banking
Committee hearing entitled, “Consumer Protection: Examining Fees in Financial
Services and Rental Housing,” the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) submitted
a letter detailing its opposition to rules issued by the CFPB on credit card
late fees and overdraft fees. The trade group described its contention these
rules raise questions about whether the CFPB has prioritized supporting the Biden
administration’s re-election campaign over the bureau’s legal obligation to
consider stakeholder input and even consumers’ welfare. The organization’s full
letter is available here.
ICBA urges regulators to address community bank concerns
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) wrote to
federal regulators, imploring them to address what they believe to be excessive
regulatory burdens on community banks under the latest Economic Growth and
Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA) review. ICBA Executive Vice
President and Senior Regulatory Counsel Christopher Cole highlighted various
industry developments as signs of the strain of exponential regulatory growth
on community banks. He urged regulators to consider: hiring an independent
consultant to assess the current regulatory burden; hosting live-streamed,
nationwide outreach meetings; establishing an EGRPRA.gov website to publish
relevant information; appointing an overall director for the EGRPRA review
process; reviewing past regulatory assessments to accurately gauge the burden;
and simplifying reporting, streamlining bank applications, updating policies,
and expediting merger procedures. ICBA’s full list of recommendations is
available here.
Credit union trade group calls for national data
security, privacy standard
America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Jim Nussle described
the credit union’s support for creating a national data security and privacy
standard in a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee on
Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. He noted that since 2005,
there have been “more than 18,000 data breaches exposing billions of consumer
records,” which have cost credit unions, banks and the consumers they serve
millions of dollars, and compromised consumers’ privacy and financial security.
Nussle also explained the complications that field of membership rules can have
on data breaches at credit unions, given that they can be concentrated on
geographic or industry-specific populations. He urged lawmakers to
consider enacting legislative measures that would: account for
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) standards in place for financial institutions; create
federal preemption from state laws for institutions that comply with national
privacy and GLBA standards; and offer protection from “frivolous lawsuits
created by a private right of action.” Read his full comments here.