The Federal Reserve and other US financial regulators are framing a slew of regulations on climate change as they hurry to deliver on ambitious policies to combat global warming set out by the Biden administration.
Americas
SEC consults on ESG disclosure standards for listed companies
Acting chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Allison Herren Lee, said the agency is consulting on its rules to facilitate the disclosure of consistent, comparable and reliable information on climate change by domestic and foreign companies listed on US exchanges.
Restrictions on shareholder payouts to end on June 30 for most banks
Temporary restrictions on bank holding companies making shareholder payouts will end for most firms on June 30, following the outcome of the upcoming stress tests, the Federal Reserve Board said in a statement on March 25.
US agencies querying financial institutions over their use of artificial intelligence
Financial institutions are being asked about how they use artificial intelligence (AI) by five US federal regulatory agencies, which are seeking more detail over how the technology is employed in areas such as fraud prevention, personalised customer services and credit underwriting.
Moody’s predicts more consolation among regional banks
The US banking system is likely to see greater concentration in the coming years with Moody’s Investors Service predicting accelerated merger activity among the country’s regional banks as they seek to stay competitive.
Fed ends SLR exemptions despite bank calls for it to be extended
A temporary change, which allowed banks to exclude holdings of US Treasuries and cash deposits at the US Federal Reserve from the supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) was allowed by regulators to expire on March 31 as scheduled despite industry calls to prolong the exemptions.
Fed’s Brainard calls for lessons to be learned from Covid-shock
The market turmoil caused by measures to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, which necessitated massive public sector emergency support, underscores the need to make sure the financial sector can withstand a wide range of shocks, a Fed official has said.
SEC moves to beef up regulatory powers after meme stock trading frenzy
The SEC is scrambling to beef up its regulatory prowess after criticisms of its oversight of trading platforms like Robinhood during the GameStop saga.
Quarles says Covid complicates Fed’s stress test risk modeling
Government emergency programmes to help borrowers through the Covid-19 pandemic induced economic shock, though essential to the recovery, have nonetheless complicated stress test risk modelling, said a US Federal Reserve Board official.
BPI calls on Fed to extend leverage ratio exclusions
The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) is calling for the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio (eSLR) applied to the eight global systemically important banks, adopted in 2014 by the US Federal Reserve Board, to be recalibrated so it acts more as a backstop for risk-based capital requirements and less of a binding capital constraint.
@RiskRegulator
