Week ahead: Quarles before Congress, Brainard on reg reform, regulator boards meet – and more

Two congressional hearings featuring the top supervisory official of the Federal Reserve, a speech on regulatory reform by another Fed governor, transitioning capital rules to new accounting provisions by the federal deposit insurer, the monthly meeting of the credit unions’ regulator board, and gatherings of two subcommittees of the consumer financial protection agency are among the highlights of regulatory activities for the week ahead.

Randal H. Quarles, Federal Reserve Board vice chairman for supervision, appears in separate hearings before the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee, but he will testify at both on the Fed’s semi-annual testimony on supervision and regulation.

Quarles, the first-ever vice chairman of supervision at the agency (that post had remained empty since its creation in 2010 by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; Quarles was confirmed to the post by the Senate late last year) will likely touch on the April 10 proposal by the Fed to simplify capital rules for large banks by introducing a so-called “stress capital buffer” (SCB) – which the agency said would “modestly” decrease the amount of capital required for most non-globally systemically important banks (non-GSIBs).

The proposal has been called the first major change to bank capital rules offered during the administration of President Donald Trump.

Under the plan, the new SCB would in part integrate forward-looking stress test results with the Fed’s non-stress capital requirements. “The result would produce capital requirements for large banking organization that are firm-specific and risk-sensitive,” according to a Fed release.

The House hearing gets underway at 10 a.m. Tuesday; the Senate hearing is at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

Also this week:

  • Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lael Brainard discusses regulatory reform at the 2018 Global Financial Forum Thursday at 8 a.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, West End Hotel, 1150 22nd Street N.W, Washington, D.C. 20037.
  • The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Board meets in open session Tuesday starting at 10 a.m. to consider a capital rule dealing with the transition to the methodology used in the new current expected credit loss (CECL) accounting standard, as well as adjustments to its regulatory capital rule and conforming amendments for other regulations.
  • The National Credit Union Administration Board meets in open session Thursday at 10 a.m. to consider two final rules: capital planning and stress testing; and advertising and notice of insured status.
  • Two subcommittees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board get together next week: The Consumer Lending Subcommittee meets by conference call Wednesday at 1 p.m. to discuss two of the bureau’s requests for information (RFI) related to the “call for evidence” initiative by Acting Director Mulvaney; the Card, Payment, and Deposits Markets Subcommittee meets (also by conference call) Thursday at 1 p.m. to talk over “lessons learned” about the needs of specific targeted vulnerable populations around mobile financial services (MFS) and MFS features.

Calendar: FDIC Board meeting Tuesday, April 17, 10 a.m.

Calendar: CFPB Consumer Advisory Board consumer lending subcommittee, Wednesday, April 18, 1 p.m.

Calendar: NCUA Board meeting Thursday, April 19, 10 a.m.

Calendar: CFPB Consumer Advisory Board card, payment, and deposits markets subcommittee, Thursday, April 19, 1 p.m.