Money Talk: Congress gets annual report on Dodd-Frank’s Wall Street reforms

Editor’s note: Each Monday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Money Talk,” a wrap-up of banking and financial news. 

CONGRESS GETS ANNUAL REPORT ON DODD-FRANK’S WALL STREET REFORMS: As part of its responsibilities mandated under the federal Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform act, the U.S. Office of Financial Research released its 2015 annual report to Congress on potential threats to U.S. financial stability, key research findings, and progress in meeting its mission. The report says threats to U.S. financial stability have edged higher since last year’s report, but remain in the medium or moderate, range; that assessment has not changed since the Federal Reserve incrementally increased short-term interest rates in December. Read the report at this link.

FDIC SEEKS COMMENTS ON DEPOSIT INSURANCE PROPOSAL FOR BANKS UNDER $10 BILLION IN ASSETS: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is seeking comment on a revised proposed rule that would amend the way small banks are assessed for deposit insurance. The proposed rule would affect banks with less than $10 billion in assets that have been insured by the FDIC for at least five years. It would update the data and revise the methodology that the FDIC uses to determine risk-based assessments for those institutions to better reflect risks and to help ensure that banks that take on greater risks pay more for deposit insurance than their less risky counterparts. Comments will be received for 30 days following publication in the Federal Register.

CEOs SEE MORE GLOBAL BUSINESS THREATS IN 2016: Amid rising concerns about market volatility and increasing government regulations, two-thirds of CEOs (66%) see more threats facing their businesses today than three years ago. Just over a quarter (27%) believe global growth will improve over the next 12 months, a decline of 10 points from last year, according to PriceCoopersWaterhouse’s Annual Global CEO survey. In addition, findings from PwC’s survey show only slightly more than a third (35%) are very confident of their own company growth in the coming year, down four points from last year (39%), and even one point below 2013. PwC’s 19th annual CEO survey was conducted during the last quarter of 2015, with 1,409 CEO respondents in 83 countries.

ST. LOUIS FED PRESIDENT JAMES BULLARD DISCUSSES OIL PRICES: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard recently discussed oil prices, inflation and U.S. monetary policy at the Economic Club of Memphis. He said oil price movements are an important component of headline inflation, and the declines in crude oil prices since mid-2014 have contributed to very low year-over-year headline inflation in the U.S., Bullard said. He added that once oil prices stabilize, headline inflation should return to the Federal Open Market Committee’s inflation target of 2%, although it might take longer than previously thought. To see Bullard’s presentation, click here.