Claire Williams

Jelena McWilliams is joining the firm following her high-profile exit from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu lauded the agencies' unified Community Reinvestment Act proposal's focus on climate policies, while Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard trumpeted the data-driven aspects of the proposal.

On the issue of large regional mergers, former FDIC heads Sheila Bair and Thomas Hoenig said that presuming banks with more than $100 billion of assets are systemically important is “regulatory overreach.”

Banking groups are concerned that their long-fought-for Office of Supervisory Appeals Committee was disbanded without public comment.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said the recent collapse of TerraUSD suggests that prudential rules for stablecoin could prevent similar events in the future. 

Martin Gruenberg, the agency' acting chair, said it will be watching commercial real estate and other assets as matters of “ongoing supervisory attention.” 

Some lawmakers and experts say that the administration's preference for stablecoin issuers to hold bank charters could have the unintended consequence of putting more risk into the banking system.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are taking steps to crack down on cryptocurrency and other fintech companies that improperly suggest their products have deposit insurance.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a recent sell-off in crypto markets justifies the need for stablecoins to be issued by banks.

Per bank groups’ request, banking regulators clarified that institutions won’t receive supervisory action for falling short of the guidance.

The acting comptroller rejected a moratorium on bank mergers, but reiterated concerns about the resolvability of large regional banks.

Key divisions remain on the explicit inclusion of race and the strength of Community Reinvestment Act exams, but both sides are pleased with the promise of increased clarity and transparency.

The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a joint proposed rule Thursday meant to refocus and update its implementation of the landmark 1977 law.

Democrats face the brunt of this year’s tough elections among the key financial committees in Congress, but Republicans are retiring in greater numbers.

The number of suspicious activity reports involving cryptocurrency topped 90,000 in 2021, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The reason for the uptick may be that crypto is becoming more mainstream.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the Biden administration’s approach to economic recovery during COVID-19, but said the pandemic underscored the ways that prudential regulation for nonbanks may be warranted.

Anchorage Digital Bank has an inadequate AML compliance program and will have to create a committee within 15 days to develop a remediation plan and submit progress reports, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Observers say that while Michael Barr may not be progressives' first choice to be the Fed's top regulator, he has gained their support given the importance of the post and the pressure of looming midterm elections. What his exact policy prescriptions and priorities in the post-Dodd-Frank world will be, however, is unclear.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently decided to put an official in charge of the rising number of small and midsize national banks that partner with fintechs or have nontraditional business plans. The agency’s goal is to establish a team that understands cutting-edge technologies and establishes consistent oversight policies in response.

The acting comptroller pushed back against a key feature of Sen. Pat Toomey’s stablecoin proposal, and the idea that stablecoins could be regulated as money market funds