The Federal Financial Forum

From: Bloomberg

By Carter Dougherty

Bitcoin and other digital currencies will get more attention from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after prodding from a congressional watchdog.

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, wrote in a confidential report that the bureau, created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul, needed to become more active in developing U.S. digital-currency policies. In a written response, the agency agreed.

“We’re looking forward to increasing our involvement in formal working groups as they engage on specific issues relating to consumer protection,” William Wade-Gery, acting assistant director for card and payment markets, wrote in a May 6 letter to GAO.

Editor’s Note: The following is are excerpts from the OIRA Watch article, Was The Tozzi Amendment More Than a Nudge?  For a pre-

The June 6, 2014 Plenary Session the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) addressed the concept of “ex parte” comments.

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Jim Tozzi, a Public Member of ACUS, proposed an amendment that the following clause be added to the aforementioned recommendation:

“giving full consideration to the principles enunciated in Sierra Club v. Costle.”

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Endnotes

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CFPB: An Enlightened Ex Parte Policy

Editor’s Note: Mr. Glozer is a member of the CRE Board of Advisors

Abstract

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has had 80 years of independence from the oversight, review, and budgetary control of a more traditional federal agency, as well as from the rigors of a private shareholder-owned utility. It is impossible to claim that the TVA’s intended purpose is not accomplished: The navigation waterway is built, though lightly used; electricity is widely available, though rates are among the highest in the Southeast; and the people of Tennessee enjoy a good standard of living. The most effective way to restore efficiency to the TVA system and to relieve federal taxpayers of a significant liability is to sell the Authority’s assets in a competitive auction. The TVA, its customers, and the U.S. taxpayers would all benefit from rigorous private-sector oversight of the TVA. 

From: Association of Corporate Counsel

Keith J. Barnett , B. Knox Dobbins, Cheryl L. Haas-Goldstein, Jason S. McCarter, Lewis S. Wiener and Jason D. Stone /Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP

In a May 23, 2014 blog post by Kelly Cochran, Assistant Director of Regulation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau indicated that it is working on a “larger participant” rule for nonbank automobile lenders pursuant to Section 1024 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. Section 1024 authorizes the CFPB to designate certain industries and sizes of their participants as subject to its supervision.