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The following are remarks on entrepreneurship from Lisa. D Cook of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at the 2024 Women for Women Summit in Charleston, South Carolina:
"Today I would like to talk with you about the important role startups, new businesses, and entrepreneurship play in our economy from the perspective of a Federal Reserve policymaker. I also want to share a bit of my story. Just like many of you—including those who have started a business or those who dream of doing that someday—I have faced and overcome hurdles along a winding path."
"We need more housing supply in America. It is the most important thing we can do to lower the cost of housing. It is true that accomplishing this goal is going to take more than federal money; it is also going to require state and local governments to put in place reforms that make it easier to build housing. But we should not underestimate the important role federal dollars can play buying down the cost of capital as well as creating incentives for local and state governments to support housing construction."
"Bankers also are concerned that fintechs will use venture capital funding to subsidize lower rates on loans and other products while sending marketing blitzes to steal customers from big banks. Fintechs promise a wide range of financial benefits to low- and moderate-income consumers that bankers say may or may not be real . . . The rule will initially impact the largest banks that for now have just six months to comply. The timeline of staggered four-year compliance dates depending on a bank's size could change in the final rule, some experts say."
"In Congress' last action before Election Day, the Senate cleared a stopgap funding bill Wednesday night that heads off a government shutdown next week, bucking the demands of former President Donald Trump.
President Joe Biden is expected to quickly sign the measure, preventing a funding lapse Tuesday and delaying the government shutdown deadline to Dec. 20. It also punts a potentially bitter funding fight to just before Christmas, with the results hinging on the November elections and which party wins control of the House, Senate and White House."
- Final guidance maintains enhanced scrutiny for:
- Transactions involving nonbanks.
- Pro forma institutions with over $100 billion in assets.
- Institutions with adverse Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) ratings.
- Changes from the proposal include:
- Removal of a statement under the financial resources factor to prevent misinterpretation that a strong IDI would be unable to absorb a weaker one.
- New language clarifying that a merger must reduce financial risk to receive a favorable assessment.
- Slight modifications were made to the convenience and needs factor:
- The final guidance emphasizes that a merger should enable the resulting IDI to better serve the community.
- Clarification on public statements about withdrawn applications:
- FDIC Board retains the discretion to issue public statements on withdrawn applications to promote transparency, but such statements are rare and will comply with confidentiality laws.
- Opposition from FDIC Board members:
- Vice Chairman Travis Hill and Director Jonathan McKernan voted against the final policy, with Hill expressing concerns that the proposal went in the wrong direction.