Investment funds

The Federal Reserve looks to be paying closer attention to a potential pinch-point that rankled dollar funding markets almost three years ago and could at some stage become a catalyst for ending early officials' plans to shrink the U.S. central bank's expanded balance sheet.

The banks have reportedly facilitated trades of Russian sovereign and corporate debt. Two Democrats in Congress want more information, saying that the dealings, though legal, may undermine efforts to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for the invasion of Ukraine.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the Biden administration’s approach to economic recovery during COVID-19, but said the pandemic underscored the ways that prudential regulation for nonbanks may be warranted.

BNY Mellon and State Street have been granting millions of dollars in discounts to ensure investors in money market mutual funds stay in the black. Recent moves by the Fed are expected to relieve the pressure.

While money market funds are flocking to the Federal Reserve’s overnight reverse repurchase agreement facility for the yield, large U.S. banks are using the program to shed unwanted deposits.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council has struggled to find its footing since its creation in Dodd-Frank. The Treasury secretary has signaled a more aggressive role for the panel, including reviving its authority to target nonbank behemoths.

The scheduled meeting with members of the House Financial Services comes at a time when large banks are warning of significant losses tied to the derivatives blowup at the hedge fund Archegos Capital.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen conducted her first meeting as chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council and set the stage for a potential recalibration of the panel's role after it was weakened in the Trump administration.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she prefers to have the Financial Stability Oversight Council flag hazardous activities by nonbanks rather than subject specific firms to heightened supervision.

Banks weren't involved in the trading frenzy, but some observers say the regulatory response should address risks to all financial institutions.

Global regulators are preparing to tighten restrictions on companies believed to have threatened the financial system at the height of pandemic-fueled volatility.

The company reported growth of more than 103% since the end of last year.

The agencies issued a rule to better enable banks to participate in two of the Federal Reserve’s lending facilities and “support the flow of credit to households and businesses.”

The central bank’s programs announced since mid-April in response to the coronavirus outbreak match if not exceed the actions it took during the 2007-9 financial crisis.

BofA, JPMorgan said they are paying bonuses to branch and call center employees; the bank says removing the $1.9 trillion limit on growth will help it lend to more customers in need.

The central bank said its program to support money market mutual funds will also serve as a backstop for state and local governments.

The Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility, established under the central bank’s emergency authority, echoes a version that was set up during the global financial crisis.

The Federal Reserve's support for the commercial paper market made clear that it was willing to go beyond cutting interest rates, but the central bank may feel pressure to do even more as the crisis worsens.

Regulators already finalized a rollback of the proprietary trading ban section of the rule but signaled then that their overhaul was not finished.

The agencies handed banks a significant victory when they finalized revisions to the Dodd-Frank proprietary trading ban, but officials also plan to re-propose changes to the “covered funds” section of the rule.