The Senate Committee on Finance is holding a committee hearing on Wednesday, April 17th, at 10 a.m. for the President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2014. Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) released statements. View hearing here (links externally to Senate Finance website). See also: Baucus Statement on the Administration's FY2014 Budget; Hatch Statement at Finance Hearing Examining the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("Board") is inviting comments on a proposed rule to implement Section 318 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which directs the Board to collect assessments, fees, or other charges equal to the total expenses which the Board estimates are necessary or appropriate to carry out the supervisory and regulatory responsibilities of the Board for bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more and nonbank financial companies designated for Board supervision by the Financial Stability Oversight

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") is providing guidance clarifying and making technical amendments to the 2013 Escrows Final Rule. The final rule, among other things, lengthens the amount of time during which a mandatory escrow account established for a higher-priced mortgage loan ("HPML") must be maintained. The rule also establishes an exemption from the escrow requirement for certain creditors that operate predominantly in "rural" or "underserved" areas. The amendments clarify the determination method for the "rural" and "underserved" designations and keep in place certain

The Federal Reserve Board ("Board") and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") have jointly issued the release of additional guidance, clarification and direction for the first group of institutions that filed their resolution plans pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. These 11 institutions filed their initial resolution plans with the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC in 2012. Plans were required generally from U.S. bank holding companies with $250 billion or more in total nonbank assets, and foreign-based bank holding companies with $250 billion or more in total U.S. nonbank assets

The MSRB published an introductory guide to EMMA for state and local government issuers of municipal bonds. The guide is intended to assist state and local governments in better evaluating their municipal financing options, communicate with investors, and comply with disclosure rules. It is a key addition to the MSRB's State and Local Government Toolkit, which includes Costs Associated with Issuing Municipal Securities and Using EMMA Trade Monitor to Evaluate Your Municipal Market Activity. View Guide in full here (links externally to MSRB website). See: Electronic Municipal Market Access