FSOC 2014 Annual Report
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FINANCIAL STABILITY OVERSIGHT COUNCIL 2014 ANNUAL REPORT WWW.FSOC.GOV Financial Stability Oversight Council The Financial Stability Oversight Council (Council) was established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) and is charged with three primary purposes: 1. To identify risks to the financial stability of the United States that could arise from the material financial distress or failure, or ongoing activities, of large, interconnected bank holding companies or nonbank financial companies, or that could arise outside the financial services marketplace. 2. To promote market discipline, by eliminating expectations on the part of shareholders, creditors, and counterparties of such companies that the U.S. government will shield them from losses in the event of failure. 3. To respond to emerging threats to the stability of the U.S. financial system. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the Council consists of ten voting members and five nonvoting members and brings together the expertise of federal financial regulators, state regulators, and an insurance expert appointed by the President. The voting members are: • the Secretary of the Treasury, who serves as the Chairperson of the Council; • the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; • the Comptroller of the Currency; • the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection; • the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; • the Chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; • the Chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; • the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency; • the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration; and • an independent member with insurance expertise who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a six-year term. The nonvoting members, who serve in an advisory capacity, are: • the Director of the Office of Financial Research; • the Director of the Federal Insurance Office; • a state insurance commissioner designated by the state insurance commissioners; • a state banking supervisor designated by the state banking supervisors; and • a state securities commissioner (or officer performing like functions) designated by the state securities commissioners. The state insurance commissioner, state banking supervisor, and state securities commissioner serve two-year terms. Financial Stability Oversightiii Council iii Statutory Requirements for the Annual Report Section 112(a)(2)(N) of the Dodd-Frank Act requires that the annual report address the following: i. the activities of the Council; ii. significant financial market and regulatory developments, including insurance and accounting regulations and standards, along with an assessment of those developments on the stability of the financial system; iii. potential emerging threats to the financial stability of the United States; iv. all determinations made under Section 113 or Title VIII, and the basis for such determinations; v. all recommendations made under Section 119 and the result of such recommendations; and vi. recommendations— I. to enhance the integrity, efficiency, competitiveness, and stability of United States financial markets; II. to promote market discipline; and III. to maintain investor confidence. Approval of the Annual Report This annual report was approved unanimously by the voting members of the Council on May 7, 2014. Except as otherwise indicated, data cited in this report is as of March 31, 2014. Abbreviations for Federal Member Agencies of the Council • Department of the Treasury (Treasury) • Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) • Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) • Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) • Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) • Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) • National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) • Office of Financial Research (OFR) • Federal Insurance Office (FIO) iv 2014 FSOC // Annual Report Contents 1 Member Statement ...................................................... 1 2 Executive Summary ..................................................... 3 3 Annual Report Recommendations ...............................7 3.1 Reforms to Address Structural Vulnerabilities ..........................................7 3.2 Heightened Risk Management and Supervisory Attention ........................8 4 Macroeconomic Environment ....................................15 4.1 U.S. Economic Activity ..........................................................................15 4.2 Nonfinancial Balance Sheets .................................................................18 4.3 Government Finance .............................................................................23 BOX A: Macroeconomic and Financial Market Impacts of the Debt Ceiling and Government Shutdown ...........................................................................25 BOX B: Detroit and Puerto Rico: Municipal Market Impact ...................................28 4.4 External Environment ............................................................................29 5 Financial Developments .............................................37 5.1 Asset Valuations ...................................................................................37 BOX C: The 2013 Bond Market Selloff, Market Liquidity, and Broker-Dealer Balance Sheets ................................................................41 BOX D: Global Monetary Policy Actions ...............................................................48 5.2 Wholesale Funding Markets ..................................................................57 5.3 Bank Holding Companies and Depository Institutions ............................62 5.4 Nonbank Financial Companies ..............................................................71 BOX E: Concerns Related to Captive Reinsurance ...............................................75 BOX F: Carry Trade Strategies and Susceptibility to Shocks ................................80 5.5 Investment Funds .................................................................................81 5.6 Derivatives Infrastructure ......................................................................87 Contents v 6 Regulatory Developments; Council Activities ........... 91 6.1 Safety and Soundness ..........................................................................91 6.2 Financial Infrastructure, Markets, and Oversight................................... 99 6.3 Consumer and Investor Protection.......................................................102 6.4 Data Standards ..................................................................................105 6.5 Council Activities ................................................................................108 BOX G: Governance and Transparency .............................................................. 111 7 Potential Emerging Threats ......................................113 7.1 Risk of Reliance Upon Short-Term Wholesale Funding ......................... 113 7.2 Developments in Financial Products, Services, and Business Practices ............................................................................. 113 7.3 Risk-Taking Incentives of Large, Complex, Interconnected Financial Institutions ...........................................................................115 7.4 Reliance upon Reference Rates as a Vulnerability ................................117 7.5 Financial System Vulnerability to Interest Rate Volatility .......................118 7.6 Operational Risks ...............................................................................120 7.7 Foreign Economic and Financial Developments ...................................121 7.8 Data Gaps and Data Quality ................................................................123 Abbreviations ................................................................ 125 Glossary .........................................................................131 List of Charts ................................................................ 143 vi 2014 FSOC // Annual Report 1 Member Statement The Honorable John A. Boehner The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Speaker of the House President of the Senate United States House of Representatives United States Senate The Honorable Nancy Pelosi The Honorable Harry Reid Democratic Leader Majority Leader United States House of Representatives United States Senate The Honorable Mitch McConnell Republican Leader United States Senate In accordance with Section 112(b)(2) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, for the reasons outlined in the annual report, I believe that additional actions, as described below, should be taken to ensure financial stability and to mitigate systemic risk that would negatively affect the economy: the issues and recommendations set forth in the Council’s annual report should be fully addressed; the Council should continue to build its systems and processes for monitoring and responding to emerging threats to the stability of the United States financial system, including those described in the Council’s annual report; the Council and its member agencies should continue to implement the laws they administer, including those established by, and amended by, the Dodd-Frank Act, through efficient and effective measures; and the Council and its member agencies should exercise their