U.S. Financial Regulatory Week Ahead
The Senate Approves A Bipartisan Housing Bill With Trump’s Controversial Provision Included, The Justice Department Appeals Powell Case, and The Fed To Vote on New Capital Rules
March 16 - 20, 2026
Congress is starting off the week with a bang – or more precisely with tornado and severe weather warnings for the greater Washington, D.C. area, resulting in the House of Representatives cancelling all votes on Monday.
Aside from that, it will be a big week for banks, as the Federal Reserve, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the FDIC boards will vote on a new bank capital rule to implement the final phase of Basel II this Thursday. Bowman previewed the proposals last week at the Cato Institute, saying bank capital rules will decrease “by a small amount” under the coming proposal.
She went on to point out that the proposal will eliminate duplicative capital calculations for the largest banks and will likely allow banks to rely solely on internal model-based risk-based capital ratios, rather than maintaining two sets of ratios (the other being the standardized approach).
Meanwhile, a federal judge squashed efforts to subpoena the Federal Reserve as part of the criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jay Powell. In a tough ruling, Judge James Boasberg said that the government has “produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime” and called its justifications for the subpoenas so “thin and unsubstantiated” that they were simply a pretext to force Powell to cut interest rates, as Trump has repeatedly demanded.
He went on to write, “There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will.”
But the Justice Department defiantly announced that it intends to appeal the ruling. Our view is that the real impact of their decision to appeal will be on Kevin Warsh’s confirmation hearing, which we can now see will not take place until mid-summer. Senator Tom Tillis (R-NC) and a number of other senators have vowed to hold up Warsh’s confirmation until the investigation of Powell is dropped. Knowing how long appeals can take – and our guess is the Trump Administration will take this all the way to the Supreme Court – that means it will be months before Warsh gets his confirmation hearing. US Treasury officials we spoke to this past week acknowledged this and suggested that President Trump will likely name Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran as Acting Chair when Powell’s term as Chair expires on May 15th.
Looking at events on Capitol Hill, the Senate passed a major bipartisan housing bill last week and is now headed to the House for a vote. But a controversial provision championed – oddly enough – by both President Trump and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), blocking institutional investors from buying homes, was included. A number of House Republicans oppose the provision despite the President’s strong support for it. That is likely to significantly delay final passage.
Also last week, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig said in a speech that prediction markets are quickly becoming critical tools for everyday Americans seeking to understand current events and could serve as a check on “disinformation.” Considering how prediction markets are increasingly becoming a big part of political campaigns – in some way replacing traditional polling – we expect a lot of focus on what Selig does next to regulate them.
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
· Wednesday, March 18, 2:30 p.m. – The Joint Economic Committee holds a hearing entitled “Keeping Our Promises: Labor Inflows, Maintaining Competitiveness, and Supporting an Aging Population.”
House of Representatives
· Tuesday, March 17, 10:00 a.m. – The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing entitled “Updating America’s Financial Privacy Framework for the 21st Century.”
· Wednesday, March 18, 10:00 a.m. – The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing entitled “Oversight of the Export-Import Bank.”
· Wednesday, March 18, 2:00 p.m. – The House Financial Services monetary policy task force will hold a hearing on the Treasury-Fed Accord, which separated the management of government debt from the central bank’s interest-rate decisions.
Federal Department & Regulatory Agency Meetings & Events
The White House
· Nothing significant to report.
Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks
· Tuesday & Wednesday, March 17 & 18 – The Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Open Market Committee meets on interest rates. Fed Chair Jay Powell gives a press release on March 18 at 2:30 p.m. EST.
· Thursday, March 19, 10:00 a.m. – The Federal Reserve Board holds an Open Board Meeting. The agenda item is to vote on meet to vote on proposed new capital rules for small and large banks, including a re-proposal of the Basel endgame capital plan.
· Saturday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell gives brief acceptance remarks at the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Annual Conference: Paul A. Volcker Public Integrity Award Ceremony (virtual).
U.S. Treasury Department
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
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
· Tuesday, March 17, 9:00 a.m. – SEC Chair Paul Atkins will give a keynote speech and participate in a fireside chat with CFTC Chair Michael Selig at the DC Blockchain Summit.
· Thursday, March 19, 9:00 a.m. – SEC Chair Paul Atkins and the rest of the SEC Commissioners, and a number of senior SEC officials will participate in the annual two-day SEC Speaks in 2026 Conference sponsored by the Practicing Law Institute.
· Thursday, March 19, 2:00 p.m. – The SEC holds a Closed Meeting.
Commodities Futures Trading Commission
· Nothing significant to report.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
· Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – The FDIC Board meets to vote on proposed new capital rules for small and large banks, including a re-proposal of the Basel endgame capital plan.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
· Tuesday, March 17, 11:00 a.m. – Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould speaks at the DC Blockchain Summit.
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
Federal Trade Commission & Department of Justice Antitrust Division
· Thursday, March 19 – the FTC holds its Annual Conference on Marketing and Public Policy.
Farm Credit Administration
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation
International Monetary Fund & World Bank
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
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
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Think Tanks and Other Events
· Wednesday, March 18, 10:00 a.m. – The Brookings Institution holds a conference entitled “Reimagining Homeowners Insurance Amid Growing Climate Risk.”
· Wednesday, March 18, Noon – The Exchequer Club hosts Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD), a member of the Senate Banking Committee.
· Wednesday, March 18, Noon – The Urban Institute holds a virtual discussion, beginning at 12 p.m., on "The Credit Trajectories of Microbusiness Loan Borrowers."
· Wednesday, March 18, Noon. – The RAND Corporation holds a virtual discussion entitled “America's Housing Crunch: What the Evidence Says."
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