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News

Treasury Secretary Testifies to the House Financial Services Committee

May 13, 2025

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered his first annual testimony to Congress last week before the House Financial Services Committee. In a lively hearing, lawmakers debated a broad range of topics, including tariffs and cryptocurrency.

The big picture: 

  • Republicans, led by Chairman French Hill (R-AR), praised Bessent’s “America First” strategy that aims to bring jobs back to the U.S. through tariffs, tax cuts, and efforts to reduce red tape. They called for tough stances on China, stricter rules on American investments going abroad, and reforms to global institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
  • Democrats led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) slammed the administration’s tariffs, blaming them for shrinking the economy and driving up prices. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) demanded more transparency on trade negotiations. Bessent responded, saying:

We’re negotiating with 18 countries, but I can’t name them yet, as it would not benefit the United States and would compromise ongoing negotiations.
Basel III Endgame bank capital rules were also a topic of discussion. Secretary Bessent agreed with Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) that current capital rules are too strict for small banking institutions.

  • Bessent promised changes that would level the playing field for U.S. financial institutions and signaled he would take significant industry feedback to inform any re-written endgame proposal: 
I think we want to safely and soundly expand the regulated financial system and get smaller banks on equal footing with nonbanks … I think that these capital levels that are predictable, are very important for that.
Regulator Appointments: When asked about the long delay in naming a new FDIC Chair, Bessent said acting chair Travis Hill is doing a “solid job” and a permanent pick is under consideration.

Digital assets: Bessent said the U.S. should be the “premier destination for digital assets,” noting that Treasury’s plan submitted to President Trump outlines how financial institutions can participate in the digital asset space.

Bottom line: Bessent backed President Donald Trump’s approach to China, and the White House’s business-friendly policies and efforts on digital assets while addressing sharp criticism from Democrats.

Contact James Montfort (JMontfort@crefc.org) with any questions.

Contact  

James Montfort
Manager,
Government Relations
202.448.0857
jmontfort@crefc.org
The information provided herein is general in nature and for educational purposes only. CRE Finance Council makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, usefulness, or suitability of the information provided. The information should not be relied upon or interpreted as legal, financial, tax, accounting, investment, commercial or other advice, and CRE Finance Council disclaims all liability for any such reliance. © 2025 CRE Finance Council. All rights reserved.
Treasury Secretary Testifies to the House Financial Services Committee
May 13, 2025
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered his first annual testimony to Congress last week before the House Financial Services Committee.

News

NCREIF - CREFC Debt Fund Aggregate Announcement

May 13, 2025

As you know, we have been producing the NCREIF / CREFC Open-end Debt Fund Aggregate for approximately two years. Today, the Aggregate includes funds with sharply different styles and strategies of debt investing, making it useful for understanding the overall risk and return characteristics of the open-end debt fund market. Currently, the Aggregate is too varied to serve as an index or a benchmarking tool. Nevertheless, it represents a crucial first step in developing a more targeted index of funds operating within a specific style or strategy.

Introducing Open-End Debt Fund Investment Styles and Criteria

A task force and the data contributing managers have been working diligently for the past few years to create index parameters / fund inclusion criteria, for three different styles of open-end debt fund investment. 
 
These parameters will be used to categorize the funds included in the Aggregate into their respective style indices. The Aggregate will continue to be produced and will include open-end debt funds regardless of the fund’s style or strategy. In addition, we anticipate creating the first focused open-end debt fund index later this year. 

We are seeking NCREIF and CREFC member feedback on both the naming of the three style indices and the related inclusion criteria parameters.

In addition to developing the inclusion criteria, getting the names right is critical as these will become the official names of the NCREIF / CREFC Open-End Debt Fund Index products. Please keep in mind that the proposed fund index inclusion criteria will not be perfect from the start, but we must start somewhere, and this is it. Once the first debt fund style index is launched, we will monitor it, continue to seek and receive feedback from participants, make changes as necessary, and look forward to more open-end debt funds being created in order to improve and expand the suite of open-end debt fund indices. 
 
Attached via the link below is a document that outlines the full proposal. We urge you to review and provide feedback to us on our progress thus far as this is the most optimal method for ensuring its success. 
 

 

Contact 

Lisa Pendergast
President & CEO
646.884.7570
lpendergast@crefc.org
The information provided herein is general in nature and for educational purposes only. CRE Finance Council makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, usefulness, or suitability of the information provided. The information should not be relied upon or interpreted as legal, financial, tax, accounting, investment, commercial or other advice, and CRE Finance Council disclaims all liability for any such reliance. © 2025 CRE Finance Council. All rights reserved.
NCREIF-CREFC Debt Fund Aggregate Announcement
May 13, 2025
We are seeking NCREIF and CREFC member feedback on both the naming of the three style indices and the related inclusion criteria parameters.

News

Financial Regulations Update

May 13, 2025

The Trump administration continues to round out leadership in the financial regulatory landscape. 

Early last week, the Senate Banking Committee voted on party lines to recommend to the full Senate Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman as the Fed Vice Chair for Supervision. 

  • The panel advanced Bowman's nomination in a 13-11 vote. According to American Banker, Bowman “is expected to sail through the full Senate vote relatively easily as both the industry and Republicans have stood behind her nomination.”

On May 9, President Donald Trump nominated Jonathan McKernan, a former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) board member, to serve as Treasury’s undersecretary for domestic finance. 

  • McKernan's previous nomination to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, which was submitted in February and approved by the Senate Banking Committee in March, has been withdrawn.
  • According to the Treasury Department’s statement, McKernan “has become an integral part of the Secretary’s senior team” while awaiting Senate confirmation for CFPB director. 

As reported in previous CREFC Policy and Capital Markets Briefings, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated that Treasury will play a key role in financial regulatory rulemaking. According to Politico, “if confirmed to the Treasury role, McKernan would be a central part of the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back and reshape regulations on the financial industry.” 

I think we want to safely and soundly expand the regulated financial system and get [smaller banks] on equal footing [with nonbanks]. I think that these capital levels that are predictable, are very important for that.
CREFC continues to closely monitor major financial regulatory developments. Please see here for our updated Regulatory Tracker.

Contact Sairah Burki (sburki@crefc.org) with any questions.

Contact 

Sairah Burki
Managing Director,
Head of Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability
703.201.4294
sburki@crefc.org
The information provided herein is general in nature and for educational purposes only. CRE Finance Council makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, usefulness, or suitability of the information provided. The information should not be relied upon or interpreted as legal, financial, tax, accounting, investment, commercial or other advice, and CRE Finance Council disclaims all liability for any such reliance. © 2025 CRE Finance Council. All rights reserved.
Financial Regulations Update
May 13, 2025
The Trump administration continues to round out leadership in the financial regulatory landscape.

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