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Congressional Hearing Outlook 

October 7, 2025

The House Financial Services Committee released its hearing and markup schedule for October, which includes a hearing with prudential banking regulators, a housing costs hearing, and a hearing on deposit insurance reform. 

• However, the schedule could be disrupted if the government shutdown persists.

Full Committee Hearing: “From Principles to Policy: Enabling 21st Century AI Innovation in Financial Services”

• When: Wednesday, October 8, 2025, 10:00 AM ET

Financial Institutions Subcommittee Hearing: “The Future of Deposit Insurance”

• When: Thursday, October 9, 2025, 10:00 AM ET

Full Committee Hearing: “Building Capacity: Reducing Government Roadblocks to Housing Supply”

• When: Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 10:00 AM ET

National Security Subcommittee Hearing: “Evaluating CFIUS Operations”

• When: Thursday, October 16, 2025, 10:00 AM ET

Task Force on Monetary Policy Hearing: “Examining Primary Dealers and Balance Sheet Constraints”

• When: Thursday, October 16, 2025, 2:00 PM ET

Capital Markets Subcommittee Hearing: "Expanding Retirement Choices"

• When: Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 10:00 AM ET

Full Committee Hearing: “Oversight of Prudential Regulators”

• When: Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 10:00 AM ET

Markup of Various Measures

• When: Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 10:00 AM ET and Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10:00 AM ET

Contact David McCarthy (Dmccarthy@crefc.org) with any questions.

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History on the Length of Government Shutdowns

October 7, 2025

Few Washington rituals are as reliably disruptive as a government shutdown. As we are nearly one week into the current shutdown, it is worth revisiting the last few shutdowns to understand their causes, consequences, and the lessons they left for markets and policy watchers alike. 

Many of these were very short—often lasting only a few days and barely noticeable to the general public. However, there have also been several longer shutdowns, which are listed below.

• 2018–2019 (35 Days): The Longest Shutdown

This record-breaking standoff, from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019, stemmed from a dispute over border wall funding. Roughly 800,000 federal workers went without pay, major economic data releases were delayed, and some mortgage processing was disrupted due to furloughed staff at key agencies. While Treasury and the Fed kept operations running, confidence wavered. GDP growth for Q1 2019 was shaved by an estimated 0.1–0.2 percentage points.

• 2013 (16 Days): The Affordable Care Act Fight

 The October 2013 shutdown revolved around Republican attempts to defund the Affordable Care Act. Roughly 850,000 federal employees were furloughed, national parks and agencies shuttered, and credit markets briefly eyed the approaching debt ceiling. Equity markets dipped early in the standoff, then rallied as a deal materialized.

• 1995–1996 (21 Days Total): The Clinton–Gingrich Showdown

 This two-part shutdown remains a classic. Clashes between President Clinton and Speaker Newt Gingrich over Medicare, education, and spending cuts closed the government for five days in November 1995 and then for 21 days from December into January. The political fallout ultimately boosted Clinton’s reelection narrative.

Why it matters: Beyond political theater, shutdowns have real economic implications—from delayed data releases to disruptions in housing finance pipelines. They often inject short-term volatility and policy uncertainty, even if longer-term fundamentals remain intact. 

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

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CRE CLO Transparency Initiative: CMDR Component Nears Release

October 7, 2025

The CRE CLO market is poised to take another significant step forward in transparency. 

• The CMDR, an Excel-based file designed for quarterly distribution to CRE CLO investors, has been overwhelmingly well-received by Issuers and Investors alike. 
• Its finalization signals a new benchmark for disclosure in structured finance.
  

• The CMDR’s final release will be October 15, making the CMDR available for market-wide adoption.

CREFC anticipates that several Issuers will begin implementing the CMDR starting in Q4 2025, with their initial reports covering Q3 2025 data. 

Why it matters: The CMDR's finalization is particularly relevant given recent headlines from the Corporate CLO market. Over the past few weeks, a number of corporate CLO tranches have faced significant downgrades amid rising defaults in the underlying leveraged loan collateral.

• These rating actions underscore the primary structural difference between the two asset classes. 
• Corporate CLOs offer limited visibility into the health of the underlying collateral until covenant tests begin to fail.
• The CMDR's focus on granular, property-level data is the direct counterpoint to this informational challenge, offering CRE CLO investors a proactive view of collateral performance instead of a reactive one.

Dig deeper: Securitized pools of transitional commercial real estate loans—which are short-term, floating-rate loans secured by properties undergoing repositioning or renovation—require detailed, standardized reporting to assess risk accurately.

• The CMDR simplifies the analysis of underlying collateral by standardizing key metrics. 
• By reducing information asymmetry and providing investors with deeper insights, the CMDR is expected to attract a broader investor base, ensuring the continued evolution and health of commercial real estate finance.

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Government Shutdown Update

October 7, 2025

The federal government shutdown is approaching its first full week. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has also lapsed. 

What they’re saying: Little progress has been made in the stalemate.

• White House: President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought have been threatening to fire more federal workers as part of a reduction in force during the shutdown. Vought has also canceled funding for federal energy and infrastructure projects in “blue” states. 
• Senate: Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) teed up another vote last Friday on the House Continuing Resolution (CR), which failed. While Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and his caucus remain opposed to reopening the government, several moderate Dems have voted for the clean CR. 
• House: The House has been out of session since it passed the CR, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has framed the path forward as the Senate passing the clean CR. Johnson has been contemplating keeping the House out until the Senate acts. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) continues to push for action on expiring Affordable Care Act insurance tax credits. 

What’s next: The Administration’s layoff threats and spending cancellations may embolden Democrats and lengthen the shutdown. Several scenarios will likely play out this week: 

• The impact of the shutdown will intensify over time as furloughed and essential government workers will start missing paychecks beginning on Oct. 10. 
• The Senate will likely keep voting on the House CR as a way to pressure and peel off moderate Democrats. Assuming the partisan breakdown remains the same, five more Democrats would need to join to advance the CR.
• Standalone bills to pay active duty military may start to be introduced and considered if the shutdown lengthens. The votes will aim to add pressure to Democratic holdouts. 
• Reports indicate that some Republicans are nervous the shock of ACA premium increases could threaten them during the midterms. This could add pressure to find a compromise solution that will suffice for Democrats to support a CR.

Yes, but: Even if the shutdown is resolved with the House CR, that kicks the next deadline to November 21. 

• While congressional appropriators are confident they can pass the 12 appropriations bills to fund the government by then, the task will be complicated by the White House funding cancellations. 
• Fiscal year 1997 was the last time Congress passed all 12 appropriations bills on time. Other years have been enacted via continuing resolutions or omnibus bills that bundle multiple appropriations bills together. 

Contact David McCarthy (Dmccarthy@crefc.org) with any questions.

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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. 

• 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. 

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SEC Issues Concept Release on ABS Disclosure

September 30, 2025

On Sept. 26, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a concept release to solicit public comment on the current SEC rules governing ABS, with a largely RMBS focus. Comments are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

• Market participants often cite RMBS asset-level disclosure requirements, particularly for private or confidential information, as key obstacles to the issuance of publicly-offered RMBS. 

The concept release further states:

• The SEC also welcomes comments on any other aspects of the ABS registration and reporting regime. 
• CREFC will review the concept release and work with members to provide comment. 

Please contact Sairah Burki (sburki@crefc.org) if you have any questions or would like to join this effort.

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