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Daily Archives: January 9, 2014

Proposed Assessment Methodologies for Identifying Non-Bank Non-Insurer Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions

“The Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) are publishing today for public consultation Assessment Methodologies for Identifying Non-bank Non-insurer Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions (NBNI G-SIFIs). Systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) are institutions whose distress or disorderly failure, because of their size, complexity and systemic interconnectedness, would cause significant disruption to the wider financial system and economic activity. At the Seoul Summit in 2010, the G20 Leaders endorsed the FSB framework for reducing the systemic and moral hazard risks posed by SIFIs. The implementation of the FSB SIFI framework requires, as a first step, the assessment of the systemic importance of financial institutions at a global level (or G-SIFIs). The framework recognises that SIFIs vary in their structures and activities, and that systemic importance and impact upon distress or failure can vary significantly across sectors. It requires that the FSB and national authorities, in consultation with the standard-setting bodies, and drawing on relevant indicators, determine which institutions will be designated as G-SIFIs. The assessment methodologies to identify G-SIFIs need to reflect the nature and degree of risks they pose to the global financial system. To date, assessment methodologies have been developed for global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) and insurers (G-SIIs). The assessment methodologies for identifying NBNI G-SIFIs published today for public consultation complement the methodologies that currently cover banks and insurers. While the consultative document proposes specific methodologies for the identification of NBNI G-SIFIs, it does not designate any specific entities as systemically important or propose any policy measures that would apply to NBNI G-SIFIs. In the report Progress and Next Steps Towards Ending “Too-Big-To-Fail published in September 2013, the FSB explained that policy measures will be developed once the methodologies are finalised. “

Census – Supplemental Poverty Measure Overview

“In 2010, an Interagency Technical Working Group (which included representatives from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Census Bureau, the Economics and Statistics Administration, the Council of Economic Advisers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and OMB) issued a series of suggestions to the Census Bureau and BLS on how to develop… Continue Reading

China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues

CRS – China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues, Shirley A. Kan, Specialist in Asian Security Affairs, January 3, 2014. “Congress has long been concerned about whether U.S. policy advances U.S. security interests in reducing the role of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles as… Continue Reading

Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions

CRS – Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions, Marc Labonte, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy, January 7, 2014. “Congress has delegated responsibility for monetary policy to the Federal Reserve (the Fed), but retains oversight responsibilities to ensure that the Fed is adhering to its statutory mandate of  “maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.” It has… Continue Reading

CRS – National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations

National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background, January 3, 2014: “Five statutory provisions vest government agencies responsible for certain foreign intelligence investigations (principally the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)) with authority to issue written commands comparable to administrative subpoenas. A National Security Letter (NSL)  seeks customer and consumer transaction information in national security investigations from communications providers,… Continue Reading

American Bankers Association – Consumer Delinquencies Fall Significantly in Third Quarter

News release: “Consumer delinquencies declined significantly in last year’s third quarter as the economy improved and consumers better managed their finances, according to results from the American Bankers Association’s Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. The composite ratio, which tracks delinquencies in eight closed-end installment loan categories, fell 13 basis points to 1.63 percent of all accounts in… Continue Reading

Physical Activity in U.S. Youth Aged 12–15 Years, 2012

Data from the combined National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey, 2012 In 2012, about one-quarter of U.S. youth aged 12–15 years engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes daily. Basketball was the most common activity reported among active boys, followed by running, football, bike… Continue Reading

The Cost of Surveillance

Via Ashkan Soltani: “The Yale Law Journal Online (YLJO) just published an article that Ashkan Soltani co-authored with Kevin Bankston (first workshopped at the Privacy Law Scholars Conference last year) entitled Tiny Constables and the Cost of Surveillance: Making Cents Out of United States v. Jones. In it, we discuss the drastic reduction in the cost of tracking an individual’s location and show how technology has greatly… Continue Reading

Article – The Prudential Regulation of Financial Institutions

The Prudential Regulation of Financial Institutions – Why Regulatory Responses to the Crisis May Not Prove Sufficient, by William White. Article published in the School of Public Policy – SPP Research Papers – University of Calgary – Volume 6 Issue 33 – October 2013. “It is now six years since a devastating financial and economic crisis rocked… Continue Reading

Women at high risk for breast cancer now to receive some drugs free under Affordable Care Act

HHS news release: “Based on a robust review of the evidence, an independent panel of experts known as the United States Preventive Services Task Force – or USPSTF – recently recommended  that clinicians offer to prescribe chemo-preventive medications like tamoxifen or raloxifene for women who are at an increased risk (provided they are also at… Continue Reading