Clarksville Times

Chairman French Hill and members of the House Committee on Financial Services have issued letters to several regulatory agencies, calling for the rescission, modification, or reproposal of legislative measures enacted during the Biden-Harris Administration. The communications focus on actions affecting financial institutions, capital markets, digital assets, and the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).

In letters sent to federal banking agencies, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Chairman Hill, alongside Subcommittee Chairman Barr and the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions members, highlighted rules and guidance that, in their view, reduced competition and hindered innovation. They argue that these were issued without thorough cost-benefit analysis and might lead to adverse economic outcomes.

The communication extends to the Securities and Exchange Commission, where Chairman Hill and Subcommittee Chairman Wagner, together with the Subcommittee on Capital Markets members, urged the withdrawal of certain final and proposed rules. They claim these rules are counterproductive to the SEC’s mission, making capital markets less appealing for public companies and burdensome for existing ones, especially amid increasing global economic competition.

Digital assets and financial technology are another area of concern for Chairman Hill and Subcommittee Chairman Steil, as well as the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence members. They called on the agencies to revoke regulatory actions perceived as stifling innovation, which purportedly restrict financial institutions from engaging in digital assets, more broadly impeding fintech companies' growth. They pointed out that such regulations have fostered uncertainties and discouraged entrepreneurship, limiting consumer access to beneficial financial solutions.

Finally, in a letter to FSOC, which operates under Treasury Secretary Bessent, Hill and the committee members requested the rescission of updates to the Analytic Framework and Nonbank Designation Guidance. They contend these measures have facilitated easier supervision over nonbank financial companies by the Federal Reserve without adequately considering cost-benefit analysis.