AB – Policy & Regulation
- Banking
Confusion over CFPB underwriting rule persists
Confusion is building in the mortgage market about conflicting deadlines for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to…
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Hsu officially named as acting head of OCC
WASHINGTON — Michael Hsu will take over as the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency…
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Banking groups to Congress: Don’t throw out ‘true lender’ rule
WASHINGTON — A group of bank and fintech trade associations urged Congress not to strike down a rule defining the…
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Trade groups call on OCC to withdraw CRA rule
WASHINGTON — Financial industry groups called on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency this week to formally withdraw…
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5 policy challenges awaiting next OCC chief
WASHINGTON — After months of suspense over when the Biden administration would name an acting comptroller of the currency, reports…
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Fed proposes criteria for fintechs seeking central bank services
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve proposed new guidelines for the system’s regional banks when considering giving access to fintech firms…
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Richard Cordray’s return is a warning sign for student lenders
Lenders could be clashing with an old nemesis soon. Richard Cordray, 62, has been named chief operating officer of federal…
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Congress’s inaction on ILCs, fintech charters worries bankers
WASHINGTON — Critics of nontraditional bank charters like trusts and industrial loan companies have often looked to Congress to intervene…
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Fed’s Powell embraces idea of CRA for nonbanks
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated his support on Monday for subjecting non-depository institutions to the Community Reinvestment…
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Fed official tapped as interim OCC chief: Report
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reportedly plans to name a senior Federal Reserve official to lead the Office of…
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Why are complaints about credit bureaus soaring?
Something doesn’t add up. Consumer credit has held up remarkably well during the pandemic, and household debt has shrunk. Even…
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Former Bank of the West employee banned from industry for loan fraud
WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. banned a former Bank of the West employee from the industry after he…
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Fed’s Quarles: Bank supervisors don’t get crypto
WASHINGTON— The Federal Reserve’s top supervisory official said Thursday that bank regulators should be paying more attention to the rise…
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Hitting the brakes on subprime auto lending
Below is a lightly edited transcript of the podcast: PRIOR: The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t slow down the auto salvage business.…
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No bubble in housing market, Fed’s Powell says
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that concerns of a housing bubble are overblown, but that the central…
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Lawmakers clash over OCC rule validating loan sales to nonbanks
WASHINGTON — Democratic senators made clear their hopes of blocking a rule that makes it easier for national banks to…
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FHFA adds refi option for low-income borrowers
WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency is launching a new program to help lower-income homeowners with Fannie Mae- or…
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Banks play key role in push to eliminate food deserts
A small Chicago grocery chain rehabilitates a vacant strip mall in an area lacking food stores. In western Massachusetts, a…
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Brown sides with small banks in opposing ILCs, fintech charters
WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown sharply criticized megabanks and fintech companies as he pitched his FedAccounts proposal…
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Biggest impediment to mortgage growth? Shortage of new homes.
WASHINGTON — It is well-established that mortgage lenders will need to pivot to new areas of growth as rising rates…
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Crypto firm Paxos receives OCC approval to form national trust bank
WASHINGTON — The cryptocurrency firm Paxos National Trust has received preliminary conditional approval by the Office of the Comptroller of…
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Delay in naming OCC leader could hurt Democrats’ agenda
WASHINGTON — As President Biden took office in January, leadership vacancies atop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Office of…
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Pot banking bill’s closer to finish line, but Democrats could sabotage it
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats’ plan to push for comprehensive cannabis reform could spell trouble for financial institutions seeking legislation to…
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Why Zions is shunning SOFR, embracing Ameribor
WASHINGTON — As banks race to transition away from the London interbank offered rate, the head of Zions Bancorp. says…
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Big-bank CEOs called to testify before Congress in May
WASHINGTON — The chief executives of six of the largest U.S. banks will appear before the House and Senate banking…
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House bill aims to encourage more de novo banks
WASHINGTON — Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., has introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for new community banks to open…
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FDIC chief cites legacy systems as ‘No. 1’ concern for banks
WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said on Wednesday that banks’ reliance on outdated legacy systems…
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Biden administration to reinstate fair housing rules vacated by Trump
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is moving to reinstate two key fair housing rules that were rolled back under President…
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CFPB fines debt-settlement firm SettleIt for abusive practices
A debt-settlement firm owned by the founder of nonbank lender CashCall agreed to pay a $750,000 fine to address claims…
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CFPB sets stage for more enforcement. But what’s the script?
The CFPB’s decision last month to rescind a Trump-era guidance outlining what constitutes an “abusive” practice was a predictable outcome…
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Banks fear AML relief may be slow to materialize
WASHINGTON — As the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network seeks public comment on developing a registry to crack down on anonymous…
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Fed official backs using capital buffer to reduce impact of future crises
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve should consider raising a required capital buffer when the economy is in good shape rather…
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FDIC has tough task persuading unbanked to deposit stimulus checks
WASHINGTON — As the government urges the unbanked to open accounts to deposit pandemic relief funds, some experts highlight a…
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FDIC revives effort to modernize agency’s signage for digital age
WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has resurrected its push to modernize the agency’s iconic logo almost a year…
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Will floundering FSOC gain more relevance under Yellen?
WASHINGTON— Following the 2008 financial crisis, lawmakers created the Financial Stability Oversight Council to serve as an early-warning system to…
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Bank M&A rules could get even tougher under Biden
WASHINGTON — In the final months of the Trump administration, the Department of Justice launched a plan to consider changes…
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Partisan battle brewing over regulators’ ESG focus
WASHINGTON — For months, regulators and Democratic policymakers have shined a brighter spotlight on social disparities in the financial system…
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What Supreme Court’s robocall decision means for banks, credit unions
The Supreme Court has handed financial institutions a major victory in their fight against lawsuits involving automated calls and text…
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CFPB tries to stave off COVID-19 foreclosure surge
WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new steps Monday intended to avert a wave of foreclosures resulting from…
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6 things banks, community groups want in next phase of CRA reform
WASHINGTON — Biden administration regulators are widely expected to abandon last year’s much-criticized rule from the Office of the Comptroller…
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Rightsizing the Fed’s emergency lending powers
Below is a lightly edited transcript of the podcast: JOHN HELTMAN: Are you driving? JIM DONLAN: No, I’m parked. HELTMAN:…
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Yellen’s priorities at FSOC: Climate risk, hedge funds, bond market
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday presided over her first Financial Stability Oversight Council meeting as chair, setting…
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CFPB ends Trump-era regulatory relief tied to pandemic
WASHINGTON— The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is rescinding seven policy statements issued last year under the Trump administration that gave…
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FHA will not cut premiums amid rising delinquencies
WASHINGTON— The Biden administration will not move to cut Federal Housing Administration mortgage premiums in the near term, said the…
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Will Senate vote on CFPB chief come down to tiebreaker?
WASHINGTON — The tie vote in the Senate Banking Committee earlier this month on Rohit Chopra’s nomination as Consumer Financial…
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Regulators seek industry feedback on risks and benefits of AI
WASHINGTON — The federal bank and credit union regulators are seeking information about how financial institutions use artificial intelligence to…
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GOP senator says research by San Francisco Fed is ‘mission creep’
WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee criticized research by Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco into…
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CFPB poised to reinstate tough stance on payday lenders
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is giving its clearest signal yet that a 2020 regulation easing standards for payday lenders…
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Congressional Black Caucus members back Baradaran for OCC job
WASHINGTON — Thirty-four members of the Congressional Black Caucus are urging the Biden administration to tap Mehrsa Baradaran for comptroller…
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Momentum growing for Congress to step in on Libor transition
WASHINGTON — Consensus is building among banks and regulators that federal legislation will be required to avoid undertainty and liability…
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