拜登政府的政策议程, appointment of key personnel and potential impact to the financial services industry were among the issues discussed recently by 阿里·沃伯特, DTCC Managing Director and Head of Global 政府关系, and a group of financial services policy experts at an interactive discussion hosted by Steptoe Financial 服务.
经济刺激和气候变化处于前沿
在立法和监管领域, 史无前例的经济刺激计划, a renewed focus on climate agenda and the implications of critical nominations—as well as the lack of key appointments—have all had an impact on the industry, 陪审团说, 其中包括马特·库尔金, Co-chair of Steptoe's Financial 服务 Group, Briget Polichene, 首席执行官, Institute of 国际 Bankers and Christopher Robins, 总法律顾问, Binance.US.
Panelists agreed that the American Rescue Plan (ARP) is the administration’s most significant accomplishment so far, especially considering the speed at which it was passed. Wolpert noted that prior to the passage of the ARP, state governments in key financial centers like NY, NJ and Illinois were concerned about considerable gaps in local budgets that were not funded by previous COVID relief packages. 像这样, the potential need to move financial transaction tax proposals to fill those gaps gained a great deal of momentum in 2020. Since ARPs passage and the inclusion of state and local funding, the drive behind financial transaction tax proposals as a source of revenue have ramped down.
Climate change risk has also been a driving force within the Biden administration and there are indications that budget reconciliations may have a carbon adjustment tax as the administration looks to stay on par with European peers, 根据专家组的说法.
国会山新闻
尽管民主党控制了白宫, 参议院和众议院, legislators are still facing uphill battles given the political polarization on Capitol Hill.
Financial services legislation is moving slowly, and panelists agreed that there are many challenges to having major legislative policy completed by the end of 2021. 这个行业, 然而, is spending time to set a path for 2022 and further educate lawmakers on key issues.
"The narrow majorities in the House and the Senate pose a challenge to passing a large number of bills, 因为这需要两党合作,沃尔珀特说. “然而, there have been several targeted pieces of legislation introduced around cybersecurity, including incident reporting that that have bipartisan support and could pass before the end of the year.”
"There have been several targeted pieces of legislation introduced around cybersecurity, including incident reporting that that have bipartisan support and could pass before the end of the year.”
财政部发挥关键作用
The U.S. Department of the Treasury continues to play a pivotal role in the administration’s agenda. The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a collection of regulatory agencies established under Dodd-Frank Act that monitors risks to the financial system, is chaired by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. 到目前为止, the FSOC has addressed new risk issues impacting major areas of the global financial markets, 包括对冲基金, 开放式共同基金, 气候变化, 金融稳定, 房地产市场, 非银行金融中介, 货币市场改革, LIBOR转换和银行压力测试.
Wolpert noted that the depth of experience at Treasury and the Federal Reserve has added value in dealing with the enormous stresses on the financial system, 特别是在处理COVID-19援助方面. "The Treasury has done a quality job of implementing and executing COVID relief, especially considering the amount and speed of the legislation, 是什么给市场带来了信心,”她说。.
证券交易委员会探讨市场趋势
U的任命.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler will have a significant impact on the agency and its policy. Gensler's appointment and confirmation process coincided with the meme stock event and the resulting volatility, 这加快了解决的速度, gamification and payment for order flow (PFOF) to the forefront of industry and legislative conversations.
A supporter of shortening the settlement cycle, Gensler说过“时间等于风险”," and has indicated that he is willing to work with the industry to that end. 在发表白皮书之后Advancing Together: Leading the Industry to Accelerated 结算,“DTCC正在与SIFMA和ICI合作 is engaging with the industry on next steps to move toward T+1.
展望未来
Wolpert noted that while the administration has many significant accomplishments so far, critical appointments including at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), 货币监理署(OCC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) remain unfilled.
One panelist noted that the absence of a nominee for the chief banking regulator—the comptroller of the currency— is particularly surprising given the number of controversial interpretive letters, including true lender rules and virtual currencies and Basel III implementation, 这些问题都没有解决.
根据小组成员的说法, the absence of a permanent chairman at the CFTC has left issues, 比如LIBOR的过渡, 没有路线图. 虽然证交会正在全速推进, the CFTC staff is unable to enact policies without clear direction, and market participants are seeking further clarity to operational challenges.