Brendan Pedersen

Criticism from banking and other business groups of Saule Omarova’s candidacy could make it difficult for moderate Democrats to support President Biden's pick to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The financial sector had been outraged over a Senate proposal requiring data submissions for accounts with at least $600 of inflows and outflows. House leaders are aiming to raise that threshold to broaden support, but industry groups say they still oppose the idea.

Saule Omarova supports allowing the Federal Reserve to hold customer deposits and is skeptical of big-bank M&A. While those views are unpopular in the industry, banking critics hailed the choice to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Lawmakers approved adding the measure, which gives banks legal cover to serve cannabis firms, to a broader legislative package. But the provision has already passed the chamber several times and analysts say full enactment will be more difficult.

Whether to approve the $8 billion deal will fall to the Fed, whose board may be reshaped by President Biden in the coming months. The White House recently called for more robust scrutiny of bank acquisitions.

Requiring financial firms to report customer account data to the IRS as a means of catching tax cheats would be intrusive and costly, industry officials say. Backers of the measure say those claims are exaggerated.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen lobbied the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee on the measure requiring bank-provided customer data to help crack down on tax cheats and pay for the $3.5 trillion spending plan.

The agency’s enforcement action against a Virginia nonprofit is seen as reining in income-share agreements, which give students tuition in exchange for future wages and which critics complain have evaded scrutiny. Clearer regulatory guidance could solidify ISAs’ legal viability, proponents say.

Congress is considering whether to fund Biden administration spending priorities by forcing tax evaders to pay what they owe. Banks are intensifying efforts to kill a related provision requiring them to share more account data with the Internal Revenue Service.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency made good on a promise to rescind Community Reinvestment Act reforms finalized by ex-Comptroller Joseph Otting as part of talks with other regulators on an interagency overhaul of the law.