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☆ Stock futures are little changed as traders await Tuesday debt ceiling negotiations: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on April 10, 2023 in New York City. Futures tied to the S&P 500 slipped 0.05%, while Nasdaq 100 futures inched lower by 0.08%. Investors are anxiously awaiting progress on a deal to raise the debt ceiling before June 1, which is the earliest date the Treasury Department has said the U.S. could default on its debt obligations. Biden has so far maintained that raising the debt ceiling is non-negotiable. McCarthy, however, has pushed for talks to broker a deal to raise the debt ceiling be tied to spending cuts.

☆ Stocks week ahead: SVB and Signature Bank execs are set to testify next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs is holding three hearings this coming week centered around the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March. ET : Greg Becker, former chief executive, Silicon Valley Bank; Scott Shay, former chairman and co-founder, Signature Bank and Eric Howell, former president, Signature Bank. ET : Mark Bialek, inspector general, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Paul Kupiec, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute and more. Since then, the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have released reports detailing management missteps at SVB and Signature Bank, as well as federal regulators’ own mistakes in properly addressing red flags preceding the banks’ demises. A separate report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Friday shows that American households are becoming increasingly frugal.

[1/3] Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg testify at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the response to the recent bank failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueMay 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Banking Committee said on Tuesday it would hear from former top officials at the failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, as well as top U.S. banking regulators at separate hearings later this month. Gregory Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, and Scott Shay and Eric Howell, former senior executives for Signature Bank, will appear on May 16. On Monday, regulators closed a third firm, First Republic, which then was sold to JP Morgan Chase. The panel will also hear from top regulators for the states of New York and California, which helped oversee the two failed firms.

☆ Lawmakers praise First Republic sale, but efforts to pass new bank rules are fizzling
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Christina Wilkie | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers who sit atop key banking committees praised the federal takeover of First Republic Bank on Monday, and held up the sale of its assets to JP Morgan Chase as a successful public-private collaboration to protect the U.S. financial system. His statement contrasted from the reaction of the Senate banking committee's chairman, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. He did not directly respond to the federal intervention, choosing instead to direct his ire at the failed bank. "First Republic Bank's risky behavior, unique business model, and management failures led to significant problems, and it's clear we need stronger guardrails in place," Brown said in a statement. "We must make large banks more resilient against failure so that we protect financial stability and ensure competition in the long run."

☆ The Fed Failed but Wants More Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Federal Reserve Board of Governors Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in March. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Associated PressAn iron law of the modern administrative state is that the solution to regulatory failure is always to give regulators more power. That’s the key to understanding Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr ’s autopsy, released Friday, of Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) failure. The report offers a token mea culpa for not having responded fast enough to troubles at the bank. But that’s mainly a deflection from the report’s main purpose, which is to protect the Fed and bolster the Biden Administration’s financial regulatory agenda.

☆ SEC looks down on UpToken, imposes crypto fines
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has fined Seattle-based Coinme and related defendants nearly $4 million for conducting an unregistered and misleading offering of a crypto asset called UpToken. The SEC said investors were led to believe Up Global would limit the supply of UpToken, while Coinme would create constant demand for UpToken to fund a bitcoin automated teller machine rewards program, helping boost UpToken's price. According to the regulator, the claims were misleading because Up Global had quietly conducted transactions that reduced Coinme's need for UpToken. It also said Up Global and Bergquist falsely told investors that the offering raised $10 million to $18.9 million despite knowing that it actually raised much less, $3.65 million. Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, Coinme and Up Global will pay a combined $3.77 million, while Bergquist will pay $150,000.

☆ Exclusive: US regulators worried about uninsured deposits before March crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Douglas Gillison | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Officials had yet to do the same for regional banks, some of which had grown to considerable size and complexity, said Gruenberg. One member, Timothy Mayopoulos, who within months would quickly be named chief executive of Silicon Valley Bank after it failed in March, queried regulators about dealing with regional banks' high proportion of uninsured deposits. Banking regulators have come under criticism since March for failing to stave off the crisis triggered by a run on Silicon Valley Bank, most of whose deposit base was uninsured. The Fed and FDIC are expected to release reports on Friday on their supervision of Silicon Valley and Signature Bank. The meeting was the first since the creation of the panel more than a decade ago to consider policy responses to failures in the middle-tier of large financial institutions.

☆ 'Crypto is dead in America' as US regulators target the sector for threatening the establishment, Chamath Palihapitiya says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Crypto is paying the price for challenging the establishment, Chamath Palihapitiya said. "Crypto is dead in America," the so-called SPAC King said recently on the All-In podcast. "Crypto is dead in America," Palihapitiya said. Recent examples of the SEC's enforcement efforts include a February proposal to stop investment advisors from trading in crypto, and the threat of legal action against a number of Coinbase products. Meanwhile, Palihapitiya also lamented the SEC's enforcement rationale, claiming that it is excessively targeting a company that has a history of being regulation-friendly.

☆ New draft of House stablecoin regulation focuses on state regulators, issuers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Christina Wilkie | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The new draft bill is half the length of a previous draft and is closely tailored to focus on rules governing the registration and approval process for individual prospective stablecoin issuers. The bill contains many of the features of a version that was negotiated last year, such as the requirement that payment stablecoin issuers be approved and regulated by either a "federal payment stablecoin regulator" or "a registered State qualified payment stablecoin issuer." For example, it softens prior language that required payment stablecoin issuers to honor all requests to redeem stablecoins for cash within "one day" after the request was made. The new language says issuers must "establish procedures for timely redemption of outstanding payment stablecoins." The bill further provides states with more time to investigate and resolve potential noncompliance issues that arise with those states' approved issuers.

☆ 'Crypto is dead in America,' says longtime bitcoin bull Chamath Palihapitiya
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"Crypto is dead in America," Palihapitiya said in the latest episode of the All-In podcast. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has said crypto trading platforms should abide by strict U.S. securities laws. "You had Gensler even blaming the banking crisis on crypto," Palihapitiya said. The SEC has ramped up its enforcement of the crypto industry, bearing down on companies and projects that the regulator alleges were selling unregistered securities. In early 2021, Palihapitiya predicted on CNBC that bitcoin would rise from $39,000 at the time to $100,000 and then up to $200,000.

☆ Bitcoin and ether fall as investors weigh persistent inflation and rising interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bitcoin has been closely correlated with stock indexes, in particular the Nasdaq, which rose on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 0.75 percentage point. The price of bitcoin was last lower by about 3% and trading at $29,202.54, while ether fell 5% to $1,977.28. Bitcoin slid toward $29,000 on Wednesday as traders mulled over the likelihood that Federal Reserve rate cuts may be further away than they thought. Meanwhile in the U.S., Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said Tuesday that he anticipates one more 25 basis point interest rate increase and then a hold "for quite some time." "It is hard to trust any crypto rally with the state of market liquidity, so a sharp drop towards the downside is hardly a surprise."

☆ Goldman Sachs' David Solomon had the right idea. But that's only half the problem.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

David Solomon at Goldman's 2023 investor day Screenshots by Emmalyse Brownstein and Dakin Campbell1. Goldman Sachs' $12.2 billion in revenue from Q1 fell short of analysts' estimates, which is never a good sign — but it's not a complete disaster. As Insider's Carter Johnson reported, there is a case to be made for a turnaround at Goldman led by its embattled CEO David Solomon. We've written a lot about the struggles at Goldman Sachs recently, and rightfully so. More on what David Solomon needs to do to get Goldman Sachs back on track.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler was testifying in front of the House Financial Services Committee for the first time since Republicans took over the House of Representatives in January. Gensler, who has helmed the SEC since April 2021, underscored the agency's rulemaking as "grounded in legal authorities granted by Congress." The SEC also levied record penalties in the last fiscal year and Republican lawmakers seized on the agency's nearly 50 enforcement actions against crypto firms, saying the agency was regulating by enforcement. Gensler maintained most cryptocurrencies are securities and crypto firms must comply with securities laws. Progressive lawmakers and investor advocates have praised the SEC and pushed Congress to give the agency more resources.

WASHINGTON — The top Democrat in the House slammed Republicans' plan to pass a bill later this month to suspend the debt ceiling for a year and impose broad federal spending cuts, rather than simply raise the $31.4 trillion limit and avoid any risk of potential U.S. debt default. "Even the flirtation with the default is going to hurt everyday Americans," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday. "It risks raising car payments, it risks raising home mortgage payments, it risks raising student loan debt payments," he said. The New York Democrat said refusing to raise the debt ceiling for the first time in history would have "catastrophic" consequences. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler echoed Jeffries' concerns Tuesday, telling lawmakers that the debt ceiling fight has already affected the markets.

☆ SEC's Gensler in congressional hot seat today over climate change and crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning. That's because SEC Chair Gary Gensler has aroused the ire of many in corporate America over his 50+ list of new regulatory proposals the SEC is scheduled to vote on this year. "Chair Gensler has identified a range of 50-55 regulatory priorities since the start of his tenure, and has already proposed twice as many rules as his predecessor in just half the time." "The vast majority of crypto tokens are securities," Gensler declared in his written testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. "SEC Chair Gensler is long overdue to testify before the House Financial Services Committee," Rep. French Hill (R.-Ark), Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a statement released to CNBC.

WASHINGTON — Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler faced a barrage of criticism from House Republicans on Tuesday over his agency's crackdown on cryptocurrency trading platforms. In more than four hours of testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Gensler stood firm on his view that crypto trading platforms and exchanges should abide by strict U.S. securities laws. "All of these companies should come into compliance with the law, and until they do, we will continue to pursue them as the cop on the beat, and investigate and follow the facts and law," Gensler told the panel. Gensler, however, rejected the notion that crypto trading platforms don't know how to interpret U.S. securities laws. Facing the House committee on Tuesday, Gensler showed little sympathy for the challenges faced by crypto exchanges operating in the U.S."We have a clear regulatory framework built up over 90 years," he said.

☆ Rep. Katie Porter recounts her frustration at having to explain housing policy to onetime HUD secretary Ben Carson during a congressional hearing: 'I was tutoring a neurosurgeon'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Katie Porter detailed an odd 2019 exchange she had with Ben Carson over housing policy. Carson was unaware of the term REO and thought she said Oreo, as in the cookie sandwich. But Carson thought she was talking about a cookie — an Oreo to be specific. Porter detailed how she asked Carson if he knew the meaning of an REO during the hearing. "Secretary Ben Carson, the man in charge of housing for our nation, asked me if I meant 'Oreo.'

☆ Crypto trading could take a breather after ‘Shanghai’ rally, as investors refocus on banks and economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

While ether climbed throughout the week, bitcoin – the outperformer this year – was trading more choppily. Or will it be an event where people are losing money broadly and economic concerns spill over into the crypto space." "I think it could go either way, but so far what we see in the crypto space is encouraging," he added. "Investors could continue to be picky and look for perceived quality, even in the crypto space," she said. "That's helped bitcoin this year since it's seen as a risk asset outside of crypto, but a store of value within crypto.

☆ US senators defend push to give Biden new tools to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The White House and 26 senators support the Restrict Act that would apply to foreign technologies from China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. Critics say the bill is overbroad and hurts civil liberties of Americans including the more than 150 million U.S. TikTok users. The senators denied targeting individual users or people using a virtual private network to access TikTok. Last week, Republican Senator Rand Paul blocked a bid to fast-track a separate bill to ban TikTok introduced by Senator Josh Hawley, who said the Restrict Act "doesn’t ban TikTok. Then President Donald Trump's attempts in 2020 to ban TikTok were blocked by U.S. courts.

☆ Premarket stocks: The FDIC could ask big banks to clean up $23 billion mess
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

While regional and mid-sized banks are behind the recent turmoil, it appears that large banks may be footing the bill. Ultimately, that means higher fees for bank customers and lower rates on their savings accounts. The law also gives the FDIC the authority to decide which banks shoulder the brunt of that assessment fee. Passing it on: Regardless of who’s charged, the fees will eventually get passed on to bank customers in the end, said Isaac. In 2021, Wall Street was estimated to be responsible for 16% of all economic activity in the city.

☆ Premarket stocks: Banking chaos has been bittersweet for crypto and wine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But it also gave the fine wine and crypto industry a big boost as panicking investors rushed out of the financial sector and into alternative assets. Bittersweet banking: SVB lent over $4 billion to winery clients since 1994, with over 400 wine industry clients (including wineries, vineyards and vendors) working with the bank’s premium wine division, according to the bank’s website. Recent SEC filings, meanwhile, indicated SVB had about $1.2 billion in outstanding loans to high-end wine clients when the bank collapsed. Circle, the company behind popular stablecoin USDC, said it had about $3.3 billion of its $40 billion in reserves at SVB. The collapse of Signature Bank, a major crypto lender, also had serious implications for the industry.

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The secretive world of Federal Reserve bank supervision has been laid bare by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and critics say it needs an overhaul to make it more nimble, transparent and decisive. Typically, bank supervisors do most of their work behind closed doors. Bank supervision is typically conducted behind closed-doors because of concerns that publicizing bank missteps could spur bank runs and undermine confidence in the overall system. SVB's rapid growth also was a factor for Fed supervisors. Barr said part of his review would look at whether Fed supervision was appropriate for the bank's "rapid growth and vulnerabilities."

REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueMarch 29 (Reuters) - The scope of blame for Silicon Valley Bank's failure stretches across bank executives, Federal Reserve supervisors and other regulators, the banking system's top cop on Wednesday told U.S. lawmakers demanding answers for the lender's swift collapse. "I think that any time you have a bank failure like this, bank management clearly failed, supervisors failed and our regulatory system failed," Michael Barr, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision, told Congress. 'SOME REAL FLAWS'Barr told the House Financial Services Committee that he first became aware of stress at Silicon Valley Bank on the afternoon of March 9, but that the bank reported to supervisors that morning that deposits were stable. The Fed was in discussions with Silicon Valley Bank the day before its collapse to move pledgable collateral to the discount window, a key facility long associated with providing emergency loans to banks, Barr said on Wednesday. "(Fed) staff were working with Silicon Valley Bank basically all afternoon and evening and through the morning the next day to pledge as much collateral as humanly possible to the discount (window) on Friday," Barr said.

March 29 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve was in discussions with Silicon Valley Bank the day before its collapse to move pledgable collateral to the discount window, a key facility long associated with providing emergency loans to banks, the Fed's head of banking supervision told a Congressional committee on Wednesday. Fed Vice Chairman for Supervision Michael Barr said he first became aware of stress at Silicon Valley Bank on the afternoon of March 9, but that the bank reported to supervisors that morning that deposits were stable. "(Fed) staff were working with Silicon Valley Bank basically all afternoon and evening and through the morning the next day to pledge as much collateral as humanly possible to the discount (window) on Friday," Barr said to the House Financial Services Committee. Barr told the Senate Banking Committee he first became aware of the interest rate risk issues at SVB in mid-February, while Fed supervisors had been raising issues with the bank directly in months prior to that. Some Democrats have also argued a 2018 bank deregulation law is to blame.

"I think that any time you have a bank failure like this, bank management clearly failed, supervisors failed and our regulatory system failed," Michael Barr, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision, told Congress. REPORTS DUE MAY 1Both the Fed and FDIC are is expected to produce reports on the failure of Silicon Valley Bank by May 1. Barr told the House Financial Services Committee that he first became aware of stress at Silicon Valley Bank on the afternoon of March 9, but that the bank reported to supervisors that morning that deposits were stable. Gruenberg of the FDIC told lawmakers he also became aware of SVB's stress that Thursday evening. "(Fed) staff were working with Silicon Valley Bank basically all afternoon and evening and through the morning the next day to pledge as much collateral as humanly possible to the discount (window) on Friday," Barr said.

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