The U.S. Financial Regulatory Week Ahead
July 13 - 17, 2026
Fed Chair Warsh Gives His First Semiannual Report to Congress, Treasury Undersecretary McKernan Set to Exit, and the White House Prepares Australian-Style Retirement Accounts
Washington cannot wait to get to August, the quietest time of the year, as everyone heads out on vacation. But until then, it is going to be a busy couple of weeks ahead.
The big event of the week is Federal Reserve Board Chair Kevin Warsh’s first semi-annual report to Congress. While the bulk of the testimony and questions and answers will focus on the economy, there is a high likelihood that Warsh will be asked about several regulatory efforts underway at the Fed.
Also this week, both the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee will hold their respective annual review hearings on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The fact is, the CFPB has been reduced to a skeletal staff that does little, as the Trump Administration (and many Republican members of Congress) would like to see it abolished. With that in mind, House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark) is preparing a draft CFPB reform bill that may simply fuse the agency into another prudential banking agency. We might see a draft or a preliminary description of what Chair Hill wants at the hearing.
Down at the Treasury Department, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) will be meeting on Tuesday. The preliminary agenda for the meeting includes a presentation on the Council’s recent tabletop exercise on geopolitical risk; the Council’s work on artificial intelligence; the Council’s quarterly financial stability monitor; the Council’s proposed interpretive guidance on nonbank financial company designations; and the Council’s 2026 annual report.*
Staying with Treasury for a moment, there was surprising news this past week that Undersecretary for Domestic Finance Jonathan McKernan is departing. McKernan had served on the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and had served as a key architect of much of the Trump Administration’s bank regulatory reform efforts. In February 2025, McKernan had been named Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, but the nomination was withdrawn. He was later nominated to serve as Undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance, a role he has held since October 2025.
Also, last week, the White House floated the idea of creating Australia-inspired retirement savings accounts and is apparently drafting legislation to make it happen. Australia has a superannuation program that requires companies to contribute 12 percent of their workers’ pay into a retirement plan.
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, July 15, 10:00 a.m. – Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh gives the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
· Thursday, July 16, 10:00 a.m. – The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing entitled “The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.” Director of the Office of Management and Budget/Acting Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Russell Vought, will testify.
· Thursday, July 16, 10:00 a.m. – The Senate Finance Committee will hold a confirmation hearing to consider the nominations of Francis Brooke to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Erin Browne to be Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, Sriprakash Kothair to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and George McMaster to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
House of Representatives
· Tuesday, July 14, 10:00 a.m. – Federal Reserve Board Chair Kevin Warsh will give the semiannual monetary policy report to Congress before the House Financial Services Committee.
· Wednesday, July 15, 10:00 a.m. – The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing entitled “The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.” Director of the Office of Management and Budget/Acting Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Russell Vought will testify.
· Friday, July 17, 10:00 a.m. – The House Financial Services Committee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence will hold a field hearing in new York (Federal Hall) entitled “Building the Future of Finance: How the CLARITY Act Unlocks Innovation.”
Federal Department & Regulatory Agency Meetings & Events
The White House
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks
Speeches –
· Monday, July 13, 5:25 a.m. ET - Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman will speak virtually at the Bank Policy Institute’s Roundtable.
· Monday, July 13, 12:30 p.m. ET - Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller will give an economic update at the New York Association for Business Economics (NYABE) in New York.
· Tuesday, July 14, 10:00 a.m. – Federal Reserve Board Chair Kevin Warsh will give the semiannual monetary policy report to Congress before the House Financial Services Committee.
· Tuesday, July 14,12:40 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr will give a speech at the Federal Reserve Board Annual Financial Inclusion Conference in Washington, D.C. He will later participate in a fireside chat on the issue of artificial intelligence and financial inclusion.
· Tuesday, July 14, 1:00 p.m. – Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austin Goolsbee participates in moderated question-and-answer session before hybrid Kenosha Area Business Alliance Business Lunch event in Chicago, Illinois.
· Tuesday, July 14, 1:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook will give a speech entitled “Consumers, AI, and Financial Inclusion: Balancing Opportunities and Challenges” at the Federal Reserve Board Annual Financial Inclusion Conference in Washington, D.C.
· Tuesday, July 14, 2:55 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman will give a pre-recorded video speech entitled “Responsible Innovation and Financial Inclusion” at the Federal Reserve Board Annual Financial Inclusion Conference in Washington, D.C.
· Wednesday, July 15, 8:45 a.m. – Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams gives a keynote speech and participates in a conversation organized by the Partnership for New York City.
· Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. – St. Louis Federal Reserve Board President Alberto Musalem gives the Homer Jones Memorial Lecture in St. Louis, Missouri.
· Wednesday, July 15, 10:00 a.m. – Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh gives the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
· Wednesday, July 15, 1:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook gives an economic outlook at the Exchequer Club in Washington, D.C.
· Thursday, July 16, 12:00 p.m. – Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeff Schmid gives his perspective on the economy at the Grand Island Economic Forum in Grand Island, Nebraska.
· Thursday, July 16, 12:30 p.m. – Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Lorie Logan participates in moderated question-and-answer session sharing insights about her leadership role at the Federal Reserve, her experiences as a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee and her perspectives on the evolving economic landscape in a Fed Listening Tour event.
· Thursday, July 16, 7:00 p.m. ET – Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Philip Jefferson gives a speech entitled “Navigating Economic Shocks” at Stanford University.
Conferences –
· Tuesday, July 14, 12:30 – 5:30 p.m. – The Federal Reserve Board hosts the 3rd Annual Financial Inclusion Conference, "Next-Gen Financial Inclusion," in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Treasury Department
· Tuesday, July 15, 10:00 a.m. – The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) will meet in Executive Session. The preliminary agenda for the meeting includes a presentation on the Council’s recent tabletop exercise on geopolitical risk; the Council’s work on artificial intelligence; the Council’s quarterly financial stability monitor; the Council’s proposed interpretive guidance on nonbank financial company designations; and the Council’s 2026 annual report.*
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, July 13, 2:00 p.m. – The SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation is partnering with the Division of Corporation Finance to host a discussion entitled ”Rethinking the Rulebook: Modernizing the IPO Process and Access to Public Capital.”
· Thursday, July 16, 2:00 p.m. – The SEC holds a Closed Meeting.
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.
https://www.cato.org/blog/postal-banking-has-died-zero-customers-years
Trade Associations & Think Tank Events
Trade Associations
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Think Tanks and Other Events
· Tuesday, July 14, 2:00 p.m. – The Brookings Institution holds an event entitled “Two years later: How have our nation’s institutions responded to Loper Bright and the end of Chevron deference?”
· Wednesday, July 15, 1:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook gives an economic outlook at the Exchequer Club in Washington, D.C.
Recommended Reading\
What Do Over 3,000 Bank Runs Teach Us About Banking Crises? Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Runs on financial institutions are one of the salient markers of financial crises. But the role of runs in crises is a topic of longstanding debate. Runs can be seen as the key turning point, whereby even small shocks can generate severe crises with widespread bank failures. Another view is that runs are mainly a symptom of deeper rot in the financial system, exacerbating crises rather than being their primary cause. Understanding this debate has first-order implications for how to think about financial crises and the appropriate policy responses. In this post, we use a new database of more than 3,000 bank runs (introduced in our companion post) to show that poor fundamentals are central to explaining both when runs occur and when they have severe economic effects. We argue that this evidence tempers the view that small shocks can have outsized real effects through self-fulfilling run dynamics.
Postal Banking Has Died with Zero Customers in Years Cato Institute
The United States Postal Service has finally laid the postal banking pilot program to rest. However, it’s unlikely anyone noticed. The program didn’t have a single customer from April 2022 to September 2025.
Why are the “Underbanked” paying more for financial services? Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Why are people with less income paying more for financial services? It’s a question we at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston ask all the time about the “underbanked.” The underbanked (as opposed to the “unbanked”) have an account of some kind with a financial institution – usually checking or savings. But they still use often expensive nonbank “alternative financial services,” or AFS. One example is payday loans, which are high-interest loans usually due the day of the borrower’s next paycheck. Another popular AFS is retail bill pay, when people go to a retail outlet like a supermarket or pharmacy to pay utility, credit card, and other bills for a fee. The underbanked tend to have lower income levels and an incentive to pay less. So, what’s steering them toward more expensive financial products? We know some of the answers. In a survey we conducted with the nonprofit Commonwealth, AFS users cited speed, trust, and confirmation that their funds were sent or received as their top reasons for using those services.
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