An impasse was broken last week when the Senate Banking committee voted 14-10, with Chairman Richard Shelby among the opposition, to send Adam Szubin's bid to be the Treasury Department's anti-terrorism chief to the full Senate for confirmation. Others in the Committee's backlog include two nominees for the SEC, two for the Fed, and one for an Export-Import Bank board member, all of whom have had to wait as the Committee went all of 2015 without advancing or rejecting any nominees. 

On Tuesday, they will hear testimony from the President's two October picks for the SEC: Lisa Fairfax, who would take the seat of Democrat Luis Aguilar, and Hester Peirce, who would replace Republican Daniel Gallagher. Chair Mary Jo White wants a full set of commissioners as she tries to complete some of her agency's initiatives by year end. 

Lisa Fairfax is a professor at George Washington University Law School who previously taught at the University of Maryland and was a lawyer at Ropes & Gray LLP in Boston and Washington. Her scholarly work focuses on corporate governance issues. 

Hester Peirce is a think tank scholar for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and was previously a staffer for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who chairs the Senate Banking Committee. Peirce has been a critic of financial regulations in many areas.
14 March 2016
Week InAdvance
please join us...       
all times ET unless noted

Wednesday, Mar 16
INVESTORS CMBS Council Telecon
3 - 3:30 pm
save the date...       
all times ET unless noted

Last Wednesday of Every Month
INVESTORS Membership Telecon
4:30 - 5 pm
Brief updates from all Council chairs.
All INVESTORS members are invited to listen in.
week in brief
Tuesday, Mar 15
FDIC to discuss increasing reserve ratio. FOMC holds two-day meeting on interest rates.

Wednesday, Mar 16
Treasury's Lew appears before a House subcommittee. Yellen news conference follows FOMC rate decision.

Friday, Mar 18
Fed's Dudley gives opening remarks at supervision conference in New York.
Please see below for details on these and other events this week.
at the agencies
Monday, Mar 14
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Open meeting to consider whether to approve the 2016 budget of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the related annual accounting support fee for the Board under Section 109 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Tuesday, Mar 15
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
Open meeting to discuss a memorandum and resolution on the "Final Rule on Implementing the Dodd-Frank Requirement to Increase the Reserve Ratio from 1.15 Percent to 1.35 Percent."

Tuesday, Mar 15 -
Wednesday, Mar 16
FEDERAL RESERVE
The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds two-day meeting on interest rates, and on Wednesday will release its policy statement along with updated quarterly forecasts for the U.S. economy and the appropriate path of interest rates from individual FOMC officials. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference on Wednesday at 2:30 pm.

Wednesday, Mar 16
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
ERISA Advisory Council Meeting. Assistant Secretary Phyllis Borzi to speak.

Friday, Mar 18
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK
The New York Fed will host a conference on "Supervising Large, Complex Financial Institutions: Defining Objectives and Measuring Effectiveness." New York Fed President William Dudley gives welcome and opening remarks. The SEC's Mark Flannery, Director, Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, will participate in a session entitled, "The Theory and Practice of Supervision."

Friday, Mar 18
MUNICIPAL SECURITIES RULEMAKING BOARD
Webinar on "Click, Call and Comply: Understanding continuing Disclosures." MSRB staff will demonstrate resources available in the MSRB's Education Center and on the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website and other MSRB educational materials to support issuers' understanding and fulfillment of their continuing disclosure obligations.


  
 
on the hill
Tuesday, Mar 15
SENATE BANKING, HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Hearing on the nominations of law professor Lisa Fairfax and think tank scholar Hester Peirce to be members of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Wednesday, Mar 16
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS
Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government budget hearing. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to testify.

Wednesday, Mar 16
HOUSE EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
Hearing on "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Labor." DOL Secretary Thomas Perez to testify.

Wednesday, Mar 16
HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES
Full committee hearing on "The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection." CFPB Director Richard Cordray will report on the bureau's activities and face questions from lawmakers about the harm those activities cause consumers.

Wednesday, Mar 16
HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on "The FDIC's Targeting of Refund Anticipation Loans."


across the globe
Monday, Mar 14
PARIS, France
OECD Conference on Investment Treaties: The quest for balance between investor protection and governments' right to regulate.

Tuesday, Mar 15 -
Thursday, Mar 17
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates
Bank for International Settlement's Financial Stability Institute Program for Financial Sector Supervisors: "Arab Monetary Fund - Risk-based supervision and interest rate in the banking book" at AMF headquarters.

Thursday, Mar 17 -
Saturday, Mar 19
BRUSSELS, Belgium
European Council Summit. At its first working session the heads of state or government will discuss a new settlement for the United Kingdom in the European Union.

Friday, Mar 18
GENEVA, Switzerland
Formal meeting of the World Trade Organization's Committee on Trade in Financial Services.

Friday, Mar 18 - 
Saturday, Mar 19
FRANKFURT, Germany
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard speaks on U.S. economy and monetary policy at the European Central Bank before the Ninth Conference of the International Research Forum on Monetary Policy sponsored by the Euro Area Business Cycle Network (EABCN), the ECB, the U.S. Fed, and the Georgetown University Center for Economic Research.
other events
Sunday, Mar 13 -
Wednesday, Mar 16
ORLANDO, Florida
The ICI's Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference. Keynote speakers include CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad and the SEC's David W. Grim, Director of the Division of Investment Management.
 
Monday, Mar 14 -
Wednesday, Mar 16
ORLANDO, Florida 
FINRA CEO Richard Ketchum, CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad and Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell will speak at SIFMA's Compliance and Legal Society Annual Seminar.
 
Tuesday, Mar 15 -
Friday, Mar 18
BOCA RATON, Florida
41st Annual International Futures Industry Conference. Speakers include CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad and Sebastian Pujol-Schott from the CFTC's division of market oversight. Panelists include CFTC Commissioners Sharon Bowen and Christopher Giancarlo.