The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that listed spot crypto products will begin trading for the first time on CFTC-registered futures exchanges. The CFTC did not specify what rules or investor protections would apply to the trading of spot crypto products.

Read Better Markets’ statement here.

The SEC dismissed its lawsuit against SolarWinds and its Chief Information Security Officer. The failure to hold companies accountable when their lax cybersecurity standards lead to massive data breaches endangers all investors.

The SEC issued a statement making it easier for companies to exclude shareholder proposals from proxy materials. The statement provides legal cover for companies that wish to prevent shareholders from bringing important corporate matters to a vote.

The CFPB has released a proposal that would significantly narrow the scope of lenders and transactions required to report small business lending data. The plan would redefine a covered small business as one with $1 million or less in annual revenue (down from $5 million), exclude certain categories of lenders, and raise the coverage threshold from 100 to 1,000 originations in each of the prior two years.

The Small Business Lending Rule, issued under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, requires financial institutions to compile, maintain, and submit to the CFPB certain demographic data on applications for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses. The rule aimed to facilitate the enforcement of fair lending laws, improve transparency in the small business lending market, and gain insight into the credit needs of small businesses.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act was enacted to combat widespread discrimination in lending against women and racial minorities, addressing both intentional discrimination and practices that have discriminatory effects.

In an ongoing federal court case brought by the National Treasury Employees Union against Russ Vought, the CFPB informed the court it cannot lawfully draw funds from the Federal Reserve System due to a novel and unsupported reading of Dodd-Frank. The Bureau expects to operate through at least December 31.

OMB Director Vought requested an opinion from the White House Office of Legal Counsel to establish a new policy that the CFPB can only draw funds from the Federal Reserve System when the Fed is profitable. This new and unsupported reading of Dodd-Frank is a backdoor way to try and defund the CFPB’s work.