The Treasury secretary said reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will come into focus more in 2019, when Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt’s term will end.
The senior official said U.S. regulatory agencies should not rush to complete certain final aspects of Basel III, to prevent the new standards from conflicting with existing rules.
The Treasury secretary has suggested raising an asset cutoff used by the Financial Stability Oversight Council to assess systemically significant nonbanks, removing some hedge funds and other risky firms from the council's purview.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council will hold an executive session next week to consider whether Zions Bancorp. should still be considered a systemically important financial institution.
The Treasury's recommendations come as federal bank regulators have indicated they will soon release a proposal to reform Community Reinvestment Act policy.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions made headlines in January when he tightened federal marijuana enforcement. But the good news for financial institutions looking to service the pot industry is that the rest of the government has responded with a shrug.
The interagency will establish a venue for bank holding companies that restructure to argue in favor of their being de-designated as "systemically important," similar to the process afforded for other firms.
A top Treasury Department official on Monday said the administration's forthcoming report on regulating nonbanks will tackle questions around financial technology companies and whether they need to be regulated more like banks.
The Treasury Department struck a middle ground in recommendations for Dodd-Frank Act wind-down powers, resisting calls to repeal those powers but still addressing concerns that they are too generous to large firms.
Leadership of the CFPB was thrown into turmoil Friday with reports that President Trump is considering naming acting Director Mick Mulvaney to replace White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
