BankThink

March 16-20: Regulatory restructuring bonanza

The week ahead in Washington will be filled with anticipation. There are more hearings scheduled to take place on Capitol Hill and a couple of major agencies will convene meetings Tuesday, but the real question of the week is on bankruptcy. Will the stalled cramdown bill reach the Senate floor?

As always, don´t forget to watch for sightings of bank rescue new details.

Tuesday

The Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee will meet Tuesday and discuss what to do next to combat the financial crisis. With interest rates already near zero, the committee could be contemplating further quantitative easing measures, such as buying long-term Treasurys.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is holding a board meeting at 10am to discuss amending its temporary liquidity guarantee program.

The Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing on "modernizing insurance regulation" at 9:30am. The Committee has yet to announce witnesses.

The House Financial Services Committee will hold a 10am hearing on regulating systemic risk. Again, no witnesses yet.

Wednesday

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises will hold a 10am hearing on the effects AIG´s failure and rescue have had on the global economy.

At 2:30pm, the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment will hear from regulators listing their "lessons learned" while overseeing financial institutions. Witnesses include Scott Polakoff, the acting director of the Office of Thrift Supervision; Orice Williams, the Government Accountability Office´s director of financial markets and community investment; Roger Cole, the Fed´s director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation; Timothy Long, a bank supervision policy official at Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; and Erik Sirri, the Securities and Exchange Commission´s director of the Division of Trading and Markets.

Thursday

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight will hold a 10am hearing on the oversight of federal borrowing and the use of federal monies, and the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Witnesses include TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky and Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.

Senate Banking will hold a hearing on "modernizing" bank regulation at 10:30am. Witnesses: Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan; Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo; FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair; National Credit Union Administration Chairman Michael Fryzel; Acting OTS Director Scott Polakoff; and Timothy Karsky, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors´ commissioner.

Later, the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions will hear testimony on "current issues in deposit insurance" from FDIC Vice Chair Martin Grunberg.

At 1pm, the Small Business Administration is hosting a Web chat for small business with the head of its lending programs, Eric Zarnikow. Participants will be able to discuss how to take advantage of the changes to SBA lending supported by the stimulus package.

Friday

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak at the Independent Community Bankers Association´s annual national convention in Phoenix. He´ll talk about community banking and the financial crisis. The speech begins at 9am local time. Sheila Bair will take the stage at 10am.

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