BankThink

August 2-7: Senate's last week in town

This will be the Senate’s last week in session before the August recess; the House has already wrapped up its proceedings. Lawmakers will be ending an ambitious push on regulatory restructuring (not to mention healthcare reform) with less than they expected to accomplish, and that means summer homework. They’ll have plenty to chew on during the break. For one thing, the Treasury Department is insisting it will finally release legislative language on regulating derivatives this week so that members of Congress can review it over recess. There’s no set date and time for the announcement. Other activity on the Hill this week won’t be quite what was in July, but the halls of Congress won’t be completely silent yet.

Sunday

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is set to appear on George Stephanopoulos’ morning talk show. He will be followed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Monday

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. is giving the keynote speech an event at the Center for American Progress Action Fund on how to stop foreclosures. The subtext of Durbin’s appearance is the reincarnation of loan modification cramdowns in bankruptcy, a reform measure Durbin and other Democrats could not get passed in the Senate earlier this year. The event runs from 12pm to 2pm.

Tuesday

Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing at which regulators will offer their opinions on the Obama administration’s regulatory restructuring proposals. The first panel will include Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair; Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo; Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan and Office of Thrift Supervision Director John Bowman. The second panel will include former FDIC Chairman Gene Ludwig; the Brookings scholar Martin Baily; and Rick Carnell, a professor at the Fordham University School of Law.

Elsewhere, Treasury will be releasing a company-by-company breakdown of data on loan modifications in an attempt to pressure banks into performing more of them under the Obama administration’s loan mod and refinance plans.

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