U.S. Regulatory Week Ahead

Written By Francis Kelly

September 18 - 22, 2023

It will be a busy week for regulators and Congress this coming week.   The Senate Banking Committee will tackle the issue of AI in financial services, coming off last week’s closed-door Senate meetings with tech CEOs to better understand the potential impact AI will have on all of us.  The House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Capital Markets will hold an oversight hearing of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management – the day before the SEC votes on stricter regulations on using ESG labels on funds.  Expect a lot of hard questions for William Birdthistle, Director of the SEC’s Investment Management Division, about ESG and other major mutual fund issues.

Also, this week, the Nation Credit Union Administration holds a board meeting on new regulations.  CFTC Chair Benham and other CFTC Commissioners are making important speeches on climate-related regulatory issues and crypto regulations.

Also of note to markets, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Kahn will speak in New York on international antitrust issues, a hot topic these days with so many international mergers and acquisitions in motion, which the FTC is reviewing. 

Here is the full regulatory calendar as we see it for the coming week.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

 

U.S. Congressional Hearings

  • Wednesday, September 20 – 10:00 a.m.: The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on “Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services.”  Testifying will be Melissa Koide, Director and CEO, FinRegLab; and Daniel Gorfine, Founder & CEO, Gattaca Horizons, LLC, Adjunct Professor of Law, at Georgetown University, and former Chief Innovation Officer, of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Additional witnesses may be added at a later date.

 

  • The House Financial Services Committee will hold several hearings this week, including:

    • Tuesday, September 19, 10:00 a.m.: The Subcommittee on Capital Markets will hold a hearing on “Oversight of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management”.   The witness testifying will be William Birdthistle, Director of the Division of Investment Management, Securities and Exchange Commission.

    • Tuesday, September 19, 2:00 p.m.: The Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy will hold a hearing on “A Holistic Review of Regulators: Regulatory Overreach and Economic Consequences.”  Witnesses testifying will include Hal Scott, Nomura Professor of International Financial Systems, Emeritus, Harvard Law School, Karen Petrou, Managing Partner, Federal Financial Analytics Inc., and Mayra Rodríguez Valladares, Managing Principal, MRV Associates.

 

US Regulatory Meetings & Events

 

Federal Reserve Board

  • Tuesday and Wednesday, September 19 & 20: The Federal Open Markets Committee meeting and press conference.

  • Friday, September 22, 8:50 a.m.: Governor Lisa Cook gives a keynote address at the National Bureau of Economic Research Economics of Artificial Intelligence Conference Fall 2023 in Toronto, Canada.

 

Securities and Exchange Commission

  • Tuesday, September 19, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.: The SEC’s Small Business Advisory Committee will meet to discuss funding for early-stage companies and alternative funding for small businesses.  The complete agenda can be found HERE.

  • Tuesday, September 19, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.: SEC Regional Directors from Chicago, Fort Worth, and Denver) will speak at the Securities Enforcement Forum Central 2023 in Chicago.   Also scheduled to speak is the head of the SEC’s Crypto Asset and Cyber Unit.

  • Wednesday, September 20, 10:00 a.m.: The SEC will hold an Open Meeting to consider whether “to adopt amendments to the rule under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that addresses investment company names that are likely to mislead investors about an investment company’s investments and risks. The amendments the Commission will consider also include enhanced prospectus disclosure requirements for terminology used in investment company names, as well as public reporting regarding compliance with new names-related requirements” – in short, whether to finalize tougher rules for mutual funds that use ESG labels.

  • Thursday, September 21, 10:00 a.m.:  The SEC will convene its Investor Advisory Committee.  A complete agenda and list of panelists can be found HERE.

 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

  • Nothing significant to report.

 

Commodities Futures Trading Commission 

  • Tuesday, September 19, 10:00 a.m.: CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam will speak at the IETA North America Climate Summit – NACS 2023 in New York.   Later that afternoon (2:30 p.m.),  Chair Behnam will speak at the Flowcarbon’s Carbon Smart Summit, also in New York.

  •  

  • Wednesday, September 20, 1:00 p.m. EST: CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger will participate in a fireside chat at the World Federation of Exchanges General Assembly & Annual Meeting in Bermuda.

  •  

  • Thursday, September 21, 9:30 a.m. EST: CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson will deliver a keynote address and participate in the “Optimal Market Design for Digital Assets” session at the World Federation of Exchanges Annual Meeting in Bermuda.

 

 

National Credit Union Administration

  • Thursday, September 21, 10:00 a.m.:  The National Credit Union Administration holds a Board Meeting in Alexandria, Virginia.  The Board will be briefed on the Share Insurance Fund Quarterly Report and vote on a final rule regarding Parts 701 and 714 dealing with loan participation, eligible obligations, and notes of liquidating Credit Unions.

 

 

Federal Trade Commission & Department of Justice Antitrust Division

 

Farm Credit Administration

  •   Nothing significant to report.

 

Trade Associations & Think Tank Events

  

  

Please let us know if you have any questions or would like to be added to our email distribution list.

 

Francis Kelly
Previous

The Global Week Ahead
Next

Recommended Weekend Reads