U.S. Financial Regulatory Week Ahead

The Fed Holds a Conference on Large Bank Capital Standards, Congress Passes the First-Ever Crypto Reg Bill and Tees Up More Legislation, And Will the SEC and CFTC Merge?

July 21 - 25, 2025

Washington is currently experiencing the hottest July in recorded history, peppered by what seems like almost daily massive thunderstorms. But neither beating sun nor driving rain is slowing down the financial regulatory world in the nation’s capital.  A lot is going on.

First, Congress has just passed, and President Trump signed into law, the first-ever major legislative cryptocurrency law, creating new rules for stablecoins.  It is a major victory for the crypto industry.  Additionally, the House passed on Thursday by a 294-1345 margin much broader crypto legislation, which would create a brand-new market structure for crypto.

This comes as news broke President Trump is preparing to sign an executive order soon allowing the $9 trillion US retirement market to invest in crypto as well as gold and private equity.  This would include 401(k) plans as well as pensions.

Congress was busy this past week on a number of other fronts of interest and concern to the markets.  We would first note first that the Chairman of the House Select Committee on China, Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI) and the Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) sent letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC0 and the head of the Public Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) demanding an urgent briefing on the risks posed to US investors by Chinese companies listed on US stock exchanges.  Their letter revives a debate in Congress to force the delisting of Chinese companies (which we would point out have a combined market capitalization of $1.1 trillion).  Our view is, barring a major, unseen negative turn in US-China relations, the delisting effort will peter out eventually.  But it is a serious pressure point and worth watching.

Meanwhile, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins made headlines on Thursday when he signaled his support for merging the SEC with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  This is not a new idea – indeed, we remember 30+ years ago a raging debate over merging the two, which did not go well.  But these are different times as the Trump Administration is driving massive structural and budgetary changes to the federal government.   

Atkins also this past week pushed out the head of the Public Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Erica Williams (who had been put there by the Biden Administration).  The move had long been expected and is seen as part of a likely consolidation of the PCAOB into the SEC in the near future.

Finally, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jay Powell continued to weather considerable criticism for the $1.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters.  In fact, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said Thursday in a post on X that she is “criminally referring” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the Justice Department to “investigate perjury” regarding the $2.5 billion renovation project. We do not think this will be taken up by Justice, but it shows how ugly the issue has become.  But something a relief valve may have emerged on Friday when the Associated Press reported the most expensive renovations were actually initially pushed for by three Trump appointees on the Commission of Fine Arts which advises the federal government on architecture. 

Looking at the week ahead, the Senate Agriculture Committee announced they will (finally) vote on the confirmation of CFTC Chair-nominee Brian Quintenz on Monday.  Quintenz then has then get a full confirmation vote by the full Senate.   Looking at the Senate calendar – which includes the Senate being out of session for all of August – this suggests to us Quintenz probably will not get that final confirmation vote until late September or sometime in October.  The Senate wheels move slowly, and the most precious commodity in the world may actually be finding time on the Senate floor schedule to get anything done.

And the big event of the week will be at the Federal Reserve, which is holding its “Integrated Review of the Capital Framework for Large Banks Conference.”   Fed Chair Powell and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman will both speak.  The conference is a prelude to forthcoming major changes to bank capital standards, something big banks have been pushing hard for in recent years.

Below are the meetings and events happening this week in Washington of note:

 

U.S. Congressional Hearings 

U.S. Senate

·       Tuesday, July 22, 9:45 a.m. – The Senate Finance Committee holds a markup to vote on the nominations of Joseph Barloon to be a deputy U.S. Trade Representative in the Geneva Office, and Brian Morrissey Jr., to be general counsel for the Treasury Department.

·       Tuesday, July 22, 10:15 a.m. – The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on the nominations of Jonathan McKernan to be a Treasury undersecretary for Domestic Finance.

 

·       Wednesday, July 23, 3:00 p.m. – The Senate Agriculture Committee will vote on the confirmation of CFTC Chair nominee Brian Quintenz as well as several nominees for the Department of Agriculture.

 

House of Representatives

·       Tuesday, July 22, 10:00 a.m. and Wednesday, July 23, 10:00 a.m. – The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing to markup various measures (17 measures in total).

 

Federal Department & Regulatory Agency Meetings & Events

 

Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks

·       Tuesday, July 22, 8:30 a.m. – The Federal Reserve Board of Governors holds it "Integrated Review of the Capital Framework for Large Banks Conference."   Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell delivers opening remarks and at 1:00 p.m. Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Michelle Bowman delivers remarks.

 

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, July 22, 10:00 a.m. – Securities and Exchange Commission holds a meeting of the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee to discuss matters relating to rules and regulations affecting small and emerging businesses and their investors under the federal securities laws.

 

·       Thursday, July 24, 2:00 p.m. – The SEC holds a Closed Meeting.

 

Commodities Futures Trading Commission

·       There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

·       There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

·       There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

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

·       Thursday, July 24, 10:00 a.m. – The National Credit Union Administration Board will hold a meeting.  The agenda includes A briefing on artificial intelligence; A briefing from the NCUA Ombudsman; and a briefing on the Central Liquidity Facility.

 

Federal Trade Commission & Department of Justice Antitrust Division

·       Thursday, July 22, 2:00 p.m. – The Justice Department's Antitrust Division; the Federal Trade Commission; the Commerce Department; and the Health and Human Services Department holds a virtual event, beginning at 2 p.m., on "Formulary and Benefit Practices and Regulatory Abuse Impacting Drug Competition."

 

Farm Credit Administration

·       There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation

·       There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

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

·       Tuesday, July 22, 5:00 p.m. – The American Bar Association holds its 2025 Antitrust Regional Reception.

 

Think Tanks and Other Events

·       Monday, July 21, 8:30 a.m. – The American Enterprise Institute holds a panel discussion entitled "International Tax Cooperation and Competition: A Reset."

 

·       Tuesday, July 22, 9:15 a.m. – The Brookings Institution's Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, Purdue University's Business School, the Brandeis International Business School's Institute of Global Finance,  the University of Texas at Austin Public Affairs School, and the University of Chicago Public Policy School's Center for Municipal Finance hold the 14th annual Municipal Finance Conference in Washington, D.C.

 

·       Tuesday, July 22, 12:00 p.m. – The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies holds a virtual discussion, beginning at 12 p.m., on "Litigation Update: FTC v. Meta."

 

·       Tuesday – Thursday, July 22 – 25 – The Center for Global Development holds its annual Bank Conference on Development Economics 2025, with the theme "Development in the Age of Populism." 

 

·       Wednesday, July 23, 8:00 a.m. – Axios holds a discussion on the impact of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" as well as what's next for the remainder of the year and heading into the 2026 midterm elections.  Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, will speak.

·       Wednesday, July 23, 11:00 a.m. – The R Street Institute holds a virtual panel discussion entitled “Reconciliation Lookback: Farm Subsidy Policy and the Future of the Farm Bill.”  This will include a heavy focus on the impact on crop insurance and federal farm policy overall.

·       Wednesday, July 23, 1:00 p.m. – The Brookings Institution holds a virtual event entitled “Accelerating local climate investment amid federal uncertainty.”

·       Thursday, July 24, 11:30 a.m. – The Brookings Institution holds a rescheduled event entitled “The House Financial Services Committee Agenda: A Conversation with Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA). 

·       Thursday, July 24, 2:00 p.m. – The Cato Institute holds a forum on "Removing Barriers to Capital Formation."

·       Thursday, July 24, 3:00 p.m. – The Urban Institute holds a discussion on "The Past, Present, and Future of Credit Scores in Housing Finance."

 

  

Recommended Reading

  • How Shadow Banking Reshapes the Optimal Mix of Regulation   Liberty Street Economics/Federal Reserve Bank of New York

    Decisions that are privately optimal often impose externalities on other agents, giving rise to regulations aimed at implementing socially optimal outcomes. In the banking industry, regulations are particularly heavy, plausibly reflecting a view by regulators that the relevant externalities could culminate in financial crises and destabilize the broader economy. Over time, the toolkit for regulating banks and bank-like institutions has expanded, as has banks’ restructuring of activities into shadow banking to lessen the regulatory burden. This post, based on our recent Staff Report, explores the optimal mix of prudential tools for bank regulators in a wide range of environments.

  • The Dodd-Frank Act at 15: Has It Worked?       Paul Kupiec/American Enterprise Institute

    In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on July 15, AEI Scholar Pau Kupiec argued that “Judging the Dodd-Frank Act by its own preamble, the Act is a failure. Notwithstanding the many complex and intrusive provisions of the Act, the financial system experienced a systemic banking crisis in March 2023. Widespread bank runs were averted when the federal government was forced to take measures to bailout the banking system.”  Kupiec, who is the former Director of Research at the FDIC, goes on to say that “…the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has little ability to detect and mitigate actual risk created by so-called systemically important financial institutions or unregulated markets.”

  • Spotting Financial Crisis’s Early     MacroXX Substack

    Economists have long debated whether financial crises can be foreseen. While this question is not new, a notable study from March 2021 provides clear evidence that crises can often be predicted—typically triggered by rapid credit growth alongside sharp increases in asset prices.  Harvard researchers Robin Greenwood, Samuel Hanson, Andrei Shleifer, and Jakob Sørensen showed that financial crises aren’t just freak accidents—they often build up in plain sight.  According to this study, financial crises can be forecasted by examining past credit growth in businesses and households using relatively simple models. 

 

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