Insights | Meridian Research Group | Page 8

Bank Capital/Stress Tests

The Fed has issued a proposed rule to reform the stress testing framework for banks. The proposal would average the results of the stress tests over two years to reduce the volatility of banks’ capital requirements. Furthermore, the proposal would also give banks three more months to come into compliance with the capital requirements that are...

While President Trump last week said that he’s not considering firing Fed Chair Powell, there are lingering questions about whether he has the authority to do so, and whether he may eventually choose to re-shape the Fed Board’s makeup by firing other governors (or potentially change his mind about firing Powell). Courts have already clarified...

Student Lending

Recent/upcoming events… Republicans on the House Education Committee & Workforce (E&W) Committee have passed – on a party-line 21-14 vote – their portion of the party’s reconciliation (tax/spending) legislation. E&W had been given a minimum spending reduction goal of $330b, but preliminary estimates from the...

Mergers & Acquisitions

Our research on HPE/Juniper continues to suggest the DOJ is likely to prevail in litigation. Industry participants (who are not involved in the deal) believe the DOJ’s “enterprise-grade WLAN solutions” market definition is valid and that the merger combines two of only three significant players in the large enterprise (e.g., Fortune 1000) segment...

Tech / Media / Telecom

Antitrust (Meta)

Recent/upcoming developments… The FTC’s antitrust trial against Meta has begun. The trial – which is being heard in the DC District Court by Judge Boasberg – is expected to last around two months and conclude in mid-June. A decision in the case is expected in ~Q3 (though this could slip). To the degree Meta is found guilty by the court of...

Reconciliation & Debt Limit

As noted in our update last week (see this link), House committees are voting on the spending components of the reconciliation bill over the next two weeks. The House Ways and Means (W&M) Committee, which is responsible for tax legislation reportedly has a tentative plan to vote on 5/12-13. However, a member of the committee (Rep. Lahood (R-IL))...