David R. Kotok, November 20, 2024

(The following was first published on The Kotok Report website and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://kotokreport.com/.)

Financial market agents are paying close attention to the coming reorganization of the new Congress – for good reason. Changes are coming and they may be big.

Here’s a link to the Politico analysis of the positions of the two competing Republicans, Reps. Andy Barr and French Hill, who aspire to chair the House Financial Services Committee in the forthcoming Congress. (“Inside the GOP race to lead House Financial Services,” https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-money/2024/11/18/inside-the-gop-race-to-lead-house-financial-services-00190081)

Many changes are now possible with a Republican sweep of House, Senate, and White House. And the influence of the Project 2025 plan drafted by the Heritage Foundation has resurfaced in the post-election environment.

IMO, an attack is coming on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Here’s their website: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/. 

In the new Congress, Senator Elizabeth Warren will be in the Senate minority, and the array of new Senators and the array of new House Members means that she is unlikely to be able to protect this federal agency.

This agency is likely to have diminished power in the future. It may even be entirely eliminated.

What replaces it, or whether anything replaces it, is an open question. And there is certainly a spirited debate about its importance and efficacy.

Either way, change is coming quickly in financial services. Details to be determined and revealed as this new political landscape unfolds.