Government Relations Insights: July 3, 2025

TOP LINES

Earlier this week, the Senate passed their reconciliation package by a vote of 51-50 with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie. After a full-day “vote-a-rama” with over 45 amendments considered, the Senate voted on the full bill with three Republicans voting against it: Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).

Today, the House passed H.R. 1 by a vote of 217 to 214. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) joined all Democrats in voting no. The bill now heads to President Trump's desk to be signed.

What We’re Reading:

From American Banker: Responsible innovation must be a core mandate for prudential regulators

From PYMNTS:  SEC Pauses Binance Prosecution Amid New Crypto Landscape

WEEKLY UPDATE

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order allowing banks to collect Tax Identification Number (TIN) from third parties, rather than the bank’s customer. FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki said “this order reduces burden by providing banks with greater flexibility in determining how to fulfill their existing regulatory obligations without presenting a heightened risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illicit finance activity.” This order was made in partnership with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, called upon Congress to investigate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Pulte was frustrated with Powell’s alleged “political bias” and the Fed’s headquarter renovations, saying these are worthy of removal.

The OCC issued its Semiannual Risk Perspective for Spring 2025. The report found that commercial credit risk as well as operation risk are increasing because of geopolitical risk and sustained higher interest rates, retail credit risk remains stable despite economic uncertainty, wage growth is decelerating, and compliance risk is elevated due to the Bank Secrecy Act and evolving business models.

The Federal Reserve Board released the results of its annual bank stress test which showed that large banks are well positioned to withstand a severe recession while being above minimum capital requirements and continuing to lend. Vice Chair for Supervision, Michelle Bowman, said "large banks remain well capitalized and resilient to a range of severe outcomes.”

The OCC, the Federal Reserve, and the FDIC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking and are seeking public comment on their proposal to modify the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards applicable to U.S. bank holding companies identified as global systemically important bank holding companies (GSIBs).

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance provided a statement on certain disclosure requirements under federal securities laws for offerings and registrations of securities by issuers of crypto asset exchange-traded products (“crypto asset ETPs”). They believe that these disclosures from the SEC protect investors, facilitate capital formation, and promote fair markets. The SEC also discusses risk factors to issuers which include fraud, concentrated assets of crypto, and attacks on associated networks.

The Financial Technology Association (FTA) filed a motion for summary judgment in the case of Forcht Bank NA vs. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), urging the court to uphold the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Section 1033 open banking rule.

House Financial Services Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), Senate Banking Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to big banks including Wells Fargo, US Bank, Truist, PNC, Bank of America, Capital One, and sent a separate letter to JPMorgan Chase. They asked the banks that own Zelle to answer how they are combatting social media scams on peer to peer payment platforms. This was written after JP Morgan decided to block Zelle payments originating from social media.

UPCOMING HEARINGS AND EVENTS

July 8, 2025

House Financial Services, Financial Institutions Subcommittee Hearing Entitled: “Main Street or Mandates? How Dodd-Frank Closed the Door on Financial Opportunities”. Find more information here.

July 9, 2025

House Financial Services, Capital Markets Subcommittee Hearing Entitled: “Fifteen Years of Dodd-Frank: Assessing the Costs, Consequences, and Path Forward for U.S. Capital Markets”. Find more information here.