Shutdown Affects Key Regulatory Agencies
October 7, 2025
In the absence of a continuing resolution (CR) agreement in Congress, as discussed in the above article, federal agencies tasked with overseeing financial markets and other sectors of the economy are partially or fully closed.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) March guidance and August shutdown operations plan indicate that the EDGAR system will remain fully operational so filers can submit reports.
- However, functions like review, comment letters, registration acceleration, no-action letters, and interpretive guidance will be suspended.
The banking agencies (the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency do not rely on the appropriations process and can likely continue writing regulations.
- Yes, but: if the Federal Register and the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs staff are furloughed, implementing proposals may become difficult as they rely on interagency coordination.
The Treasury Department will suspend most nonessential activities, but continue core financial and economic operations, including debt issuance, cash management, and market surveillance.
In other regulatory news, President Trump formally nominated acting Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chair Travis Hill to permanently lead the agency.
- Hill has advanced the Administration’s deregulatory agenda since January, including rolling back Biden-era limits on banks' cryptocurrency activities, removing reputational risk from examinations, and working with regulators to loosen capital requirements.
- He previously served as FDIC vice chair under Biden, senior adviser to former FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams, and senior counsel on the Senate Banking Committee’s GOP staff.
- Please see here for CREFC’s updated Regulatory Tracker.
CREFC will continue its advocacy on several regulatory issues, including the SEC’s Rule 17g-5 and ABS Disclosure Concept Release.
Contact Sairah Burki (sburki@crefc.org) if you have any questions.