Ebrima Santos Sanneh

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has made big changes in 2025, including cutting headcount, walking back Biden-era rules and guidance and resetting the agency's approach to  emerging technologies and crypto.

Moving cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug would not legalize cannabis or remove all barriers to cannabis banking, but it would allow operators to write off expenses, increase cannabis customer cash flow and eligibility for favorable loans.

Bank groups, crypto firms and regulators are divided over whether fiduciary digital-asset custody fits naturally within the national trust charter model — or whether, as critics argue, the agency is quietly reinventing the charter.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a proposal setting application criteria for banks to issue stablecoins and sets a strict timeline under which banks may have their applications reviewed. The agency also reduced deposit insurance assessments for banks and slashed its 2026 proposed budget at a board meeting Tuesday morning.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Friday approved national trust charter applications for five crypto firms, affirming the administration's push to allow crypto companies the ability to take deposits. 

Pornographers, private-prison operators and digital-asset firms were among the industries that major banks curbed ties with over moral or reputational concerns, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's preliminary findings in its "debanking" probe launched earlier this year.

In a new interpretive letter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will allow banks to serve as middlemen for "riskless" crypto trades, extending existing brokerage authority for securities to digital assets.

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said digital asset firms' trust charter bids fit into the historic scope of the charter, refuting claims that a 2021 interpretive letter he authored as OCC General Counsel expanded the charter's scope.

The agency is weighing costly infrastructure needs, fraud risks and long-term decline in check use as it solicits public input on the possibility of winding down checks following an executive order phasing out paper in federal payments.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Friday that they are withdrawing from a 2013 interagency leveraged lending guidance, arguing it was overly restrictive, pushed activity to nonbanks and sidestepped official rulemaking.

Congress' recent ban on nearly all forms of intoxicating hemp products signals a sharp political turn away from rescheduling, making the prospects for cannabis banking reform even more dim than they already were.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Federal Reserve Board should reject the renomination of any regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents who have not lived in their districts for three years, signaling a potential confrontation when reappointments come before the board in February.

Regulatory heads of the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will appear before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday morning, the first joint appearance of President Trump's banking regulators since taking office in January.

The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a final rule Tuesday that softens leverage demands for the biggest and most systemically risky banks and lowers the community bank leverage ratio to 8%.

New guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released Monday afternoon would streamline Bank Secrecy Act exams for community banks. The agency issued a separate request for information on consolidation and contracting power among core service providers.

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in an exclusive interview with American Banker Monday that regulators must bring more new entrants into the banking industry, establish a level playing field between banks and fintechs, and shore up supervision amid mounting legal scrutiny.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in its Quarterly Banking Profile report for the third quarter that bank earnings hit 2025 highs as falling provision costs, wider margins and steady credit quality lifted industry profitability.

Former U.S. Bank veteran files for a de novo charter to launch VALT Bank, a tech-heavy business lender targeting 'digitally demanding' small businesses.

Federal Reserve Gov. Stephen Miran reiterated his view that monetary policy has become more restrictive than economists think, but expressed increased urgency that the central bank take strong corrective action.

The economy added an unexpectedly robust 119,000 jobs in September, though unemployment edged up to 4.4%. The report, delayed by the federal government shutdown, continues a trend of sluggish job growth in recent months.