House panel to consider draft bills on agency transparency following bank failures

The House Financial Services Committee today will hold a hearing on several draft bills to increase transparency at federal banking regulators following the recent failures of several large banks.

Today’s Hearing: The Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy hearing slated to start at 2 p.m. (Eastern time) will include discussion of draft legislation to enhance transparency at the FDIC and Federal Reserve, expand reporting requirements for federal regulators, and establish an experience requirement for the Fed’s vice chair of supervision.

GAO Hearing Tomorrow: A separate Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing scheduled for tomorrow will focus on the Government Accountability Office’s preliminary review of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York failures.

FDIC Board Meeting: Also tomorrow, the FDIC board of directors is scheduled to meet on its proposed rule on special assessments pursuant to its systemic risk determinations for Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The meeting follows ICBA’s repeated calls for the FDIC to exempt community banks from a special assessment in the wake of recent large bank failures, most recently in a letter to FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg.

Ongoing Advocacy: Since the immediate aftermath of the failures, ICBA has said Washington’s response should not affect community banks. In a recent blog post and video to community bankers, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said round-the-clock media outreach, the ICBA National Campaign, and focused advocacy efforts are helping to differentiate community banks from larger financial institutions among policymakers and the public.