May 11-15: Regulatory restructuring in Washington, Bernanke in Jekyll Island

This week the Senate will take up the credit card bill that the House of Representatives passed on May 1. With the stress test results now public, it´s possible that new capital raising initiatives could be announced by the banks we now know need to add to their buffers. There´s official reason for immediacy; the deadline for a capital raising plan isn´t until next month. But some would take the view that the quicker a capital raising plan is announced, the stronger the bank appears to be. We wouldn´t rule out a grand unveiling or two in the coming weeks.

Monday

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will address the Atlanta Fed´s financial markets conference, held on Jekyll Island off of Georgia´s coast. Bernanke will address the conference at 7:30pm. The topic of his speech is not listed on the conference agenda.

Tuesday

The National Association of Realtors is holding its midyear real estate summit with several headilners. First, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich will addres an 8:00am session. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan will speak at 9:15am. Alan Greenspan, former Fed chairman, will speak at 2pm and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair will close the conference with a speech at 4:00pm.

Also look for panel appearances by Harvard economist Martin Feldstein; National Community Reinvestment Council President John Taylor and Center for Responsible Lending President Michael Calhoun, among others.

Wednesday

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity will hold a 2pm hearing on the role of credit counselors in foreclosure prevention. Witnesses have not yet been announced.

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a 10am hearing called "Manufacturing and the Credit Crisis." Later, at 2:30pm, the committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Peter Rogoff, who has been picked to be the Federal Transit Administrator.

Thursday

At 10am, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises will hold a hearing on reforming insurance regulation. A witness list has not yet been posted.