The U.S. Financial Regulatory Week Ahead
The SEC Holds Its Annual Conference on Financial Market Regulation, Warsh Teed Up for Confirmation Vote, and a Breakthrough in Crypto Legislation
May 4 - 8, 2026
Congress is out of session this week, but the regulators are remaining quite busy. The big event of the week is arguably the Milken Institute Conference, being held in Beverly Hills, California. Speaking will be a small army of CEOs, as well as SEC Chair Paul Atkins, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and a number of senior members of Congress.
Meanwhile, the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis holds its 13th Annual Conference on Financial Market Regulation. Held in conjunction with and done in partnership with Lehigh University’s Center for Financial Services and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business as part of a two-day event to discuss Commission-related topics and priorities. SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioners Hester Pierce and Mark Uyeda will be speaking. We suspect there will be a lot of questions on the Commission’s forthcoming proposal to let publicly traded companies cut quarterly reporting to twice a year. It is not clear yet when the SEC will release the proposal, but we expect it in the next two weeks. The draft proposal was signed off by the White House on Friday.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council will be meeting on Tuesday at the U.S. Treasury. In a press release issued Friday, the meeting will be held solely in executive session. The preliminary agenda for the executive session includes “a presentation on the Council’s Market Resilience Working Group; a presentation on the Council’s Financial Market Utilities Committee; and a discussion on stablecoins.”
One other issue, which seems to be getting bigger and more controversial by the day in Washington, is the growth of prediction markets. Just before leaving for the week, the Senate unanimously voted to ban senators and all staff from participating in prediction markets. Congress is growing increasingly concerned about abuses in the market and is pressing the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to move more aggressively to regulate them. There are more than 10 bills floating around Capitol Hill now targeting prediction markets, all aimed at tightening regulations to prohibit insider trading.
Meanwhile, there appears to be movement on cryptocurrency legislation that had been opposed by Wall Street. The dispute came down to whether digital asset exchanges should be able to pay annual percentage yields to stablecoin holders via rewards programs. The deal, negotiated by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), means the landmark legislation is likely to pass when the Senate returns from its break. Banks opposed crypto firms being allowed to offer yield-like payments on stablecoins.
The Senate Banking Committee also moved on the nomination of Kevin Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve Chair. The committee voted 13-11, and the full Senate is expected to confirm Warsh the week of May 11th.
Finally, we would note that President Trump signed an executive order aimed at expanding access to retirement plans for workers who may not have access through their employer. According to The Hill, Trump’s order coincides with the launch of Saver’s Match, which offers up to $1,000 a year in matching retirement contributions for lower-income workers.
According to a Pew analysis in April 2024, 22 million Americans can benefit from the Saver’s Match, with a maximum match of $1,000 per person and $2,000 per married couple filing jointly. Joint filers who earn $41,000 or less will qualify for the maximum match rate of 50 percent. Single tax filers must earn less than $35,500, and the cap on joint filers is $71,000, in order to qualify for a full or partial match, according to Retirement Clearinghouse.
Below is the full report on financial regulatory-related events this week. Please let us know if you have any questions.
U.S. Congressional Hearings
U.S. Senate
· The Senate is not in session this coming week.
House of Representatives
· The House of Representatives is not in session this week.
Federal Department & Regulatory Agency Meetings & Events
The White House
· Wednesday, May 6, 3:10 p.m. – White House Digital Assets Director Patrick Witt is interviewed at the Consensus Crypto Conference in Miami, Florida.
Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks
· Monday, May 4, 12:50 p.m. – New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams gives keynote before the Cynosure Group Spring Symposium.
· Tuesday, May 5, 10:00 a.m. – Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman will speak at the 2026 Women in Housing and Finance Symposium, Washington, D.C.
· Tuesday, May 5, 12:30 p.m. (UK) – Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael S. Barr speaks on banking regulation at an event with Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods in Oxford, United Kingdom.
· Thursday, May 7, 2:05 p.m. – Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Beth Hammack speaks on “Fed 101 and policy” in a fireside chat before the 2026 Ohio CEO Summit: “Blueprints for Bold Leadership.”
· Thursday, May 7, 3:30 p.m. – New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams participates in moderated discussion before event organized by the Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress.
· Thursday & Friday, May 7 & 8 – The 7th Vienna Global Macro Workshop takes place at the Federal Reserve Board Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
· Friday, May 8, 5:45 am. (Senegal) – Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook will give a speech entitled “Perspectives on Tokenization and Implications for the Financial System” at the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) Conference on Digital Assets, Dakar, Senegal.
· Friday, May 8, 1:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher J. Waller participates on a policy panel at the Hoover Institution Monetary Policy Conference, Stanford, California.
· Friday, May 8, 7:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman participates on a policy panel at the Hoover Institution Monetary Policy Conference 2026, Stanford, California.
· Friday, May 8, 7:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee and Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly participate in panel before the Hoover Institution Monetary Policy Conference 2026,”Independence, Structure, and Risks Ahead for Central Banks.”
U.S. Treasury Department
· Tuesday, May 5, 10:30 a.m. – The Treasury Department holds a closed meeting of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee. Agenda includes: The economy; Financial markets; Treasury financing; Debt management; and Written report of its recommendations.
· Wednesday, May 6, 2:00 p.m. – The Financial Stability Oversight Council will meet at the U.S. Treasury. The meeting will be only in executive session. The preliminary agenda for the executive session includes a presentation on the Council’s Market Resilience Working Group; a presentation on the Council’s Financial Market Utilities Committee; and a discussion on stablecoins.
Department of Commerce
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Securities and Exchange Commission
· Monday, May 4, 1:40 p.m. ET – SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins is participating in a session entitled “Advancing a Modern Regulatory Framework” at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference 2026.
· Thursday, May 7 & 8. – The SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis 13th Annual Conference on Financial Market Regulation takes place at the SEC Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The two-day event to discuss Commission-related topics and priorities is done in partnership with Lehigh University’s Center for Financial Services and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. On May 7th, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda will deliver opening remarks and SEC Chief Economist Josh White will also give remarks. On May 8th, SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce will give opening remarks and SEC Chair Paul Atkins will deliver a keynote speech at 11:30 a.m.
· Thursday, May 7, 2:00 p.m. – The SEC will hold a Closed Meeting.
· Friday, May 8, 11:05 p.m. – SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins will deliver a keynote speech at the AI+ Expo hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project.
Commodities Futures Trading Commission
· Wednesday, May 6, 4:10 p.m. – CFTC Chairman Mike Selig participates in a fireside chat at the Consensus Crypto Conference in Miami, Florida.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
· Nothing significant to report.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
FINRA
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
National Credit Union Administration
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Federal Trade Commission & Department of Justice Antitrust Division
· Nothing significant to report.
Farm Credit Administration
· Nothing significant to report.
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation
· Nothing significant to report.
International Monetary Fund & World Bank
· Nothing significant to report.
North American Securities Administrators Association
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Small Business Administration
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Trade Associations & Think Tank Events
Trade Associations
· Thursday, May 7, 1:15 p.m. – The Institute for International Bankers holds its 2026 Regulatory Reporting Seminar in New York.
Think Tanks and Other Events
· Tuesday, May 5, 11:00 a.m. – The Bipartisan Policy Center holds a virtual discussion on “Housing Innovators: Building the Future of Affordable Housing.”
· Tuesday – Thursday, May 5 – 7 – the American Bankers Association holds its annual Risk and Compliance Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.
· Wednesday, May 6, 9:00 a.m. – The Institute for International Finance holds its Annual Insurance Colloquium in Washington, D.C.
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