Hannah Lang

Lawmakers from both parties are pushing for legislation to automatically substitute a new interest rate benchmark for the expiring London interbank offered rate in certain hard-to-amend legacy contracts.

The state joins Illinois and Massachusetts in subjecting nondepository companies to state-level Community Reinvestment Act requirements.

The President's Working Group on Financial Markets is urging Congress to limit stablecoin issuance to insured depository institutions and subject cryptocurrency wallets to federal oversight.

The standards, if finalized, could shed light on how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are complying with the Federal Housing Finance Agency's new capital framework.

The central bank's new ethics guidelines follow revelations that several high-level officers engaged in questionable trading activity last year while privy to the Fed's internal discussions about its coronavirus response.

From factoring global warming into the underwriting of government-backed loans to conducting "sensitivity analysis" of banks' ability to withstand severe weather, several government agencies are accelerating efforts to address the impact of climate change on the financial system.

Federal and state banking agencies released a joint statement calling on financial institutions to conduct the "due diligence necessary" to select a new reference rate benchmark that is suitable for their risk profile.

Trade groups are challenging a provision of the CFPB’s payday lending rule that limits lenders’ ability to withdraw funds from a consumer's bank account after two consecutive failed attempts.

Gov. Randal Quarles is no longer vice chair for supervision, and the Federal Reserve Board will make bank regulatory policy only when multiple members reach consensus. Observers expect inaction until the Biden administration fills key leadership posts.

Democrats’ $3.5 trillion social policy package would appropriate over $300 billion for housing-related measures, including down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers. But those provisions could be on the chopping block as centrists try to trim the bill’s price tag.

Lawmakers appeared supportive of Alanna McCargo's nomination at a Senate hearing Thursday. If confirmed, the former Urban Institute vice president would fill a role that has been vacant since 2017.

Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard said she expects scenario analysis exercises will accompany supervisory guidance to ensure that large banks are monitoring and managing climate-related risks.

As general counsel, Friedman brought together her counterparts at 11 other banks to pen an open letter to the global legal community, urging it to be more inclusive and to take bold action to combat racism.

“We've put a goal there that's very specific, and we're very loud about where we are on the path to it and how we're getting there,” Fitzsimmons said. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said questionable financial transactions by senior Federal Reserve officials — two of whom have resigned — cast doubt on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s ability to steer the central bank as President Biden mulls whether to reappoint him.

The new pilot program is only operating at four of more than 30,000 post offices nationwide. But it's drawing loud criticism from the banking industry and Republican lawmakers, along with strong praise from congressional Democrats.

If Congress fails to resolve the partisan stalemate by a crucial Oct. 18 deadline, the consequences for the financial industry may be higher borrowings costs, reduced credit supply and plummeting Treasury bond values.

With Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifying, GOP senators expressed opposition to a proposal that would require financial institutions to report account data to the IRS. Lawmakers also weighed in on Powell’s job security.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan cited his desire “to eliminate any distractions” at the central bank just hours after his Boston Fed counterpart, Eric Rosengren, said he will leave earlier than planned because of a health issue. They had engaged in stock transactions that drew criticism in light of their knowledge about the Fed's pandemic response.

The chair of the Federal Reserve said the backlash over the personal financial transactions of two Fed bank presidents — made when they were privy to discussions about the central bank’s coronavirus response — demonstrated that internal guidelines can be bolstered to avoid the appearance of conflicts.