U.S. Financial Regulatory Week Ahead

Jun 2

June 3 - 7, 2024

It was 90 years ago this week that President Franklin Roosevelt established the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC will celebrate the historic event on Wednesday with a gathering of former SEC Chairs in Washington.

We will also be watching this week as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu take part, on behalf of the Financial Stability Oversight Council FSOC) in a Brookings Institution conference entitled "Artificial Intelligence & Financial Stability.” The development of AI is of growing concern to financial regulators on a number of fronts and this conference and the high-level engagement of the Treasury Secretary and Head of the OCC are good examples of how high-level that concern has gotten recently.

Looking back on the last week, the US Supreme Court handed down an important (and unanimous) decision that rejected a broad approach to exempting national banks from state regulations. The decision requires courts to take a “nuanced” approach to federal laws when coming in conflict with state laws.

Also last week, House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC) announced he will hold a hearing on the scandals at the FDIC. He intends to call FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg up to testify before the full committee where he will face renewed calls to step down immediately (Gruenberg has steadfastly said he is staying until a replacement is nominated and confirmed by the US Senate, which will likely take not happen until early 2025).

Below is a full listing of what is happening at the financial regulatory agencies this week and in Congress. Please let us know if you have any questions.

U.S. Congressional Hearings

U.S. Senate

· Wednesday, June 5, 10:00 a.m. – The Senate Budget Committee holds a hearing on "Riskier Business: How Climate is Already Challenging Insurance Markets."

House of Representatives

· Tuesday, June 4, 11:00 a.m. – The House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on "The Social Security Trust Funds in 2024 and Beyond."

· Wednesday, June 5, 9:00 a.m. – The House Financial Services Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion Subcommittee holds a hearing on "Next Generation Infrastructure: How Tokenization of Real-World Assets Will Facilitate Efficient Markets."

Joint Committees

· Tuesday, June 4, 2:30 p.m. – The Joint Economic Committee holds a hearing on "Artificial Intelligence and Its Potential to Fuel Economic Growth and Improve Governance."

US Regulatory Meetings & Events

Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks

· Thursday, June 6, 12:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa D. Cook at the Girls Global Academy 2024 Commencement Ceremony, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

U.S. Treasury Department

· Tuesday, June 4, 1:00 p.m. – The Treasury Department holds a virtual meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance to discuss climate-related financial risk and the insurance sector, discuss cyber insurance developments and international insurance issues and receive status updates from each of its subcommittees and from the Federal Insurance Office on its activities.

· Thursday, June 6 & 7 – The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and the Brookings Institution hold a conference on "Artificial Intelligence & Financial Stability.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu will give keynote speeches.

Securities and Exchange Commission

· Tuesday, June 5, 11:10 a.m. – SEC Chair Gary Gensler will speak at the ISDA/SIFMA Treasury Forum in New York.

· Wednesday, June 6, 10:00 a.m. – The SEC holds a virtual meeting of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee for a panel discussion examining the new frontier for investment advice, a panel discussion regarding AI regulation: embracing the future, a discussion of a recommendation regarding the protection of self-directed investors when trading complex products and utilizing complex strategies, a discussion of a recommendation on financial literacy and investor education and subcommittee and working group reports.

· Wednesday, June 6, 1:00 p.m. – The SEC hosts the 90th Anniversary of the Securities Exchange Act at the SEC.

Commodities Futures Trading Commission

· Tuesday, June 4, 10:00 a.m. – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission holds a meeting of the Global Markets Advisory Committee to hear a presentation from the GMAC's Global Market Structure Subcommittee, Technical Issues Subcommittee, and Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee on various workstreams, and consider recommendations from the Subcommittees on such workstreams.

· Wednesday, June 5, 12:30 p.m. – CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam to keynote at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange & Trading Conference 2024 in New York.

FINRA