The Market Participants Division has issued an interpretation clarifying what types of assets qualify as eligible margin collateral for certain uncleared swap transactions under Commission Regulation 23.156. Specifically, the Division states that swap dealers and major swap participants may use certain U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds as both initial margin and variation margin in these transactions.

Allowing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be used as collateral in uncleared swaps increases the risk that financial institutions rely on assets that may lose value or become illiquid in a crisis. This weakens safeguards meant to prevent defaults and financial contagion, putting the broader economy and everyday Americans’ jobs, savings, and stability at greater risk.

New CFPB leadership instructs businesses it will not prioritize enforcement or supervision actions against nonbanks who fail to satisfy their obligations under the previous administration’s “repeat offender” registry, which would have detected, tracked, and deterred corporate offenders that have broken consumer laws and are subject to federal, state, or local government or court orders.

New CFPB leadership continues its trend of dismissing prior CFPB enforcement actions against alleged corporate wrongdoers—this time, it dismissed its case against Comerica, which the CFPB previously alleged significantly mistreated customers through its federal beneficiary debit card program, including by intentionally disconnecting 24 million customer service calls, charging illegal ATM fees to over 1 million cardholders, and significantly mishandling fraud and error reports from consumers.

The SEC approved options on spot ether ETPs. Options trading is already risky for retail investors, and trading options on a product whose underlying asset is the incredibly volatile Ether could lead retail investors to suffer real harm.

Read Better Markets’ statement here.

OCC had a security breach that exposed highly-sensitive information about the financial condition of banks. The stability of our banking system requires and relies on trust. The OCC’s security breach and release of sensitive information on banks breaks that trust and erodes confidence in the OCC’s ability to do its job and protect people’s money and the banking system.

Acting FDIC Chairman Hill discussed a range of new policies that are intended to spur new bank formation. Hill proposes loosening the rules to encourage new banks to form in rural/underserved areas, make it easier for fintechs to become insured banks, and encourage more industrial loan companies. While new banks can help to spur economic growth, the FDIC must ensure that new banks are safe and sound to safeguard families’ savings.