April 2023 Outlook

Congress returns today after a two-week recess and a busy month of March that saw an unexpected shift in focus following the collapses of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), as well as the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. Inevitably, this crisis will remain a top focus among financial regulators and lawmakers for the foreseeable future, but we do expect regular policy agendas to resume in April now that the initial shockwaves from the bank failures have settled. Appropriations season is upon us, debt ceiling discussions will continue to pick up as we approach the summer, and a flurry of committee business is expected over the coming weeks. The Senate will be in Washington for nine of the next ten business days to close out the month, and the House will be in session for eight. Meanwhile, this month will include Congressional appearances from several notable agency heads, while prudential regulators continue reviews of the banking system – all of this on the heels of the recent World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring meetings that concluded late last week. With no shortage of action, RFA has provided below our take on notable activity at the legislative, regulatory, and administrative levels for the upcoming April work period.