Policy Issues

The Roundtable is focused on developing an effective, long-term approach for a federal terrorism risk insurance program.  Such a long-term program should enable policyholders to secure the terrorism risk coverage they need without facing periodic renewals by the federal government. 

The Roundtable and its partner associations support a long-term reauthorization and improvements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that help property owners and renters prepare for and recover from future flood losses. Floods are the most common and most destructive natural disaster in the U.S., and there is limited private market capacity.

The Roundtable’s RECPAC has formed a LIBOR Working Group to work toward the development and implementation of an effective new replacement benchmark that does not impair liquidity, needlessly increase borrowing costs, or cause market disruptions.

The Roundtable continues to urge the FASB and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to delay implementation of the CECL standard, which may begin to reduce aggregate bank lending as early as next year.

Proposed legislation would require every business with fewer than 20 employees to register their beneficial owners with the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This latest action follows last year’s enactment of a rule from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) – “Customer Due Diligence Requirements for Financial Institutions” (the CDD Rule) – that amends Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations to improve financial transparency and prevent criminals and terrorists from misusing companies to disguise their illicit activities and launder their ill-gotten gains.

CFIUS is a U.S. interagency committee that conducts national security reviews of foreign investment.

Successful reform should meet the housing finance needs of the American economy while protecting the taxpayer. The Roundtable encourages policymakers to build upon successful risk-sharing mechanisms and products by employing the existing multifamily finance structures being used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that have been essential in expanding the supply of rural, senior, workforce and affordable rental housing.

The Roundtable continues to urge policymakers to take action that encourages stable valuations, enhanced transparency and sensible underwriting, and support efforts to establish appropriate systemic safeguards—all key factors for a reliable credit system.

The Roundtable supports finalizing a federal proposal that would implement modified capital rules for High Volatility Commercial Real Estate (HVCRE) loan exposures as stipulated in Section 214 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S.2155). 

The Volcker rule prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading and from owning or controlling hedge funds or private equity funds. 

For the commercial real estate industry, the Volcker Rule has put a damper on secondary market trading of commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) by limiting the ability of banks to hold inventories of secondary market securities, thereby diminishing market liquidity.