OVERNIGHT FINANCE: House hearing to target Dodd-Frank panel

TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: Credit Suisse is expected to announce a deal with U.S. authorities for helping wealthy Americans evade paying millions in taxes, according to multiple reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported Credit Suisse is expected to pay $2.5 billion in fines and will plead guilty.

FIRST IN OVERNIGHT FINANCE: Influential lawyer Eugene Scalia and Vanguard CEO F. William McNabb will blast the Financial Stability Oversight Council Tuesday during testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.

The committee will host a hearing on how the FSOC designates non-banking financial institutions as Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs). The hearing features a big-name panel including Scalia, partner at Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and former top lawyer at the Labor Department; and Vanguard’s McNabb.

{mosads}Scalia’s submitted testimony offers a critique of how the agency designates SIFIs, which are subject to heightened regulations and stringent capital requirements. He will argue the FSOC has failed to provide clear standards and guidance on what poses systemic risk; doesn’t offer substantial evidence for its reasoning; and ignores other regulatory authorities.

“Companies are kept in the dark until after the FSOC members have made a preliminary decision to designate them—at which point a company is effectively in the position of taking an ‘appeal’ to the very people who ruled against it and will naturally be predisposed to ratify, rather than reverse, their own prior judgment,” according to Scalia’s testimony. Scalia’s testimony: http://bit.ly/1jiRmqP

McNabb will testify: “We have become increasingly concerned that the FSOC, in the name of promoting financial stability, may seek to exercise its SIFI designation authority in a manner far broader than Congress intended and that sweeps beyond any demonstrably ‘systemic’ risks.” McNabb’s testimony: http://bit.ly/1j3Daxs

THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, and I’m your host Kevin Cirilli. Today is our re-launch of The Hill’s overnight money tip sheet, featuring the exclusive reporting of The Hill’s finance team.

Send tips, suggestions to kcirilli@digital-staging.thehill.com. Tweet: @kevcirilli.

Happy Monday. Now back to work…

HENSARLING TO HERITAGE FOUNDATION TOMORROW. House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) will speak at The Heritage Foundation tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. It’s being touted as a major policy “call to action for conservatives to create an enduring conservative governing majority that embraces true free enterprise rather than ‘pro-business’ Washington special interests.” Title of the speech: “A Time for Choosing: The Main Street Economy v. The Washington Crony Economy.” RSVP: http://herit.ag/1jwDhaQ

AT&T-DIRECTV MERGER – 24-HOURS LATER: AT&T’s $49 billion proposed deal to acquire DirecTV has rattled the financial world. One day later, here’s what’s emerged:

1.) AT&T DEAL HELPS COMCAST, via Peter Lauria for BuzzFeed: “AT&T’s [proposed deal] to acquire DirecTV… makes it more likely that regulators will have to approve Comcast’s impending $45.2 billion merger for Time Warner Cable… AT&T is indirectly making Comcast’s case to regulators that it should be allowed to acquire Time Warner Cable because competition is increasing.” http://bzfd.it/1qP6zoS

Just don’t tell Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)…

2.) FRANKEN BLASTS AT&T DEAL; HILL HEARINGS TO COME. Franken blasted the proposed merger on CNN this morning, just as he has criticized the Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal. The Hill’s Rebecca Shabad: http://bit.ly/1oJ7Mfw

The Senate and House Judiciary Committees are expected to host hearings in the coming weeks. The Hill’s Julian Hattem: http://bit.ly/R0pLiM

3.) DIRECTV CAN’T FUMBLE NFL CONTRACT. AT&T can call off the merger if DirecTV can’t strike a deal with the National Football League to renew its “NFL Sunday Ticket” football package. Liana B. Baker reports for Reuters that DirecTV’s estimated agreement, which lets subscribers watch football games outside of their local markets on Sunday, with the NFL expires at the end of this season. Baker reports: “Investors have been watching closely to see whether DirecTV would renew the Sunday Ticket contract with the NFL, estimated to be worth $1 billion annually, with the potential to rise in value as part of a new agreement.” http://reut.rs/1lFFz4f

FED’s WILLIAMS: NO RATE HIKE UNTIL NEXT YEAR. Speaking to reporters after a public appearance at the Bush Institute in Dallas, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said: “I don’t think it’s appropriate to start raising interest rates until the second half of next year.” 

Most economists think the rate hike is coming at the end of this year. Michael S. Derby reports on Williams’ remarks for The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1mPbuSx. 

‘THE MONEY’ QUOTE OF THE DAY – via Jill Abramson speaking at Wake Forrest’s graduation: “What’s next for me? I don’t know. So I’m in exactly the same boat as many of you. Like you, I’m a little scared, but also excited.”

The ousted NYT executive editor made her first remarks since her firing from The Times last week. Will she remove her Times’ ‘T’ logo tattoo? “Not a chance.” The Hill’s Rebecca Shabad: http://bit.ly/1h0kBKS

ARTS WATCH – STRAUSS-KAHN SUES SEX ADDICT FILMMAKER. Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is suing the filmmakers behind a movie about a sex addict who sexually assaults a hotel maid, according to reports.

French cinema power player Vincent Maraval on Strauss-Kahn’s lawsuit: “If they want to make us publicity, they’re welcome.” Full story from The Times: http://nyti.ms/RPxml5

DOJ TARGETS CHINESE HACKERS. The Justice Department charged five members of the Chinese military for cyber-spying on American companies. This is the first time U.S. officials indicted a foreign country on criminal hacking charges.

— Why it matters: The Hill’s Jullian Hattem: “It is likely to be seen as a serious escalation on the issue, and a signal that the U.S. intends to use a full range of resources to protect American companies.” http://bit.ly/1jhdWjF

RASKIN TO RWANDA: Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Rakin is headed to Kigali, Rwanda, this week in her first international visit at Treasury’s No. 2, according to a Treasury release.

Raskin will lead the U.S. delegation to the African Development Bank’s Annual Meeting on Thursday. All week, she’ll meet with senior government officials from African nations about strategies to promote economic growth. The Hill’s Vicki Needham reports: http://bit.ly/1mOQ5ck

ECONOMY RECOVERING WITHOUT HELP FROM HOUSING. As the market awaits two housing reports this week, Jeffry Bartash at MarketWatch notes that most economists now believe the economy will expand in the second half of 2014 – with or without help from the housing market.

“The case for faster U.S. growth in the second half of 2014 largely depends on a broad improvement in the economy, but the housing market remains in danger of falling behind…

“Yet even if the housing industry continues to lag, they say, the economy is poised to expand more rapidly anyway. They cite an upsurge in hiring, stronger manufacturing growth and an expected acceleration in business investment.” http://on.mktw.net/1nevo7Z

HOUSING REPORTS TO BE RELEASED THIS WEEK – Wednesday: April FOMC meeting minutes… Thursday: Existing home sales report… Friday: New home sales report.

ON-TAP FOR TUESDAY: Senate is expected to take up Stanley Fischer’s nomination for Fed vice chairman… House Financial Services hosts hearing dubbed: “Examining the Dangers of the FSOC’s Designation Process and its Impact on the U.S. Financial System” …New York Fed’s President William Dudley speaks at 12 p.m. …House Financial Services panel hosts Legislative Proposals to Reform Domestic Insurance Policy at 2 p.m. …Senate HELP Committee hosts hearing on women in the workplace…Hensarling’s speech at Heritage at 3 p.m.

MORE TODAY FROM THE HILL’s FINANCE TEAM:

— Conservative group key votes against water bill, by Erik Wasson: http://bit.ly/1lW2HNB

–Poll: Unemployment is still the top problem in U.S., by Rebecca Shabad: http://bit.ly/1h19Xn8

–The Trade Benefits America Coalition is using World Trade Week as a platform to urge congressional passage of trade promotion authority (TPA), by Vicki Needham: http://bit.ly/1tbzUrj

–A House bill would lower funding for the CFTC, reports Erik Wasson: http://bit.ly/1nZEqcQ

–Poll: Target shoppers will continue spending, reports Vicki Needham: http://bit.ly/1neV6t3

–Dems urge changes to Social Security Administration discrimination policies, by Vicki Needham: http://bit.ly/RPYnoE

–Judge rejects DC’s try for budget autonomy, reports Mario Trujillo: http://bit.ly/1o8kGkQ

Catch The Hill’s finance team on Twitter: @VickoftheHill, @peteschroeder, @elwasson @berniebecker3 and @kevcirilli.