John Heltman is the Washington Bureau Chief for American Banker. John previously edited American Banker Magazine and is the creator of American Banker's narrative podcast Bankshot. He was awarded the Grand Neal, the top honor bestowed by the Jesse H. Neal Awards, in 2019 for his narrative podcast series Nobody’s Home, which examines the economic and social impact of concentrated vacant housing. He was also named the 2019 McAllister Editorial Fellow at Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He is a 2005 graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland and lives in Baltimore, Md.
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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra says that a recently proposed data-access rule would provide a competitive edge to small banks over their larger competitors.
October 20 -
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu says the process of determining whether certain lending activities and investments qualify for Community Reinvestment Act credit under regulators' forthcoming final rule "has to be better and it's got to be faster" than the status quo.
October 20 -
Higher interest rates, deposit flight and looming credit losses were roiling the banking industry a few months ago, but so far banks seem to be weathering the storm. That doesn't mean things can't get worse.
October 17 -
A lack of accurate information about banks' inner workings is meant to protect banks and instill market discipline. But it probably makes everything worse.
October 10 -
Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said during a payments conference at the Brookings Institution Friday that the FedNow payments system has already enlisted "well over 100" depository institutions for the service and expects that number to grow.
October 6 -
Speaking at the Brookings Institution Friday morning, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Rohit Chopra warned that, absent intervention, the U.S. payments system could evolve to resemble that of China, where commerce and payments are deeply intertwined.
October 6 -
The high court heard what is likely the last realistic judicial attempt to assert that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is structurally unconstitutional. It didn't go well for the plaintiffs.
October 3 -
The indictment of Senate Banking Committee member Bob Menendez, D-N.J., on bribery and corruption charges may not have a lot of impact on banks' near-term legislative priorities, but it is emblematic of a deeper struggle to preserve the rule of law.
September 26 -
As cannabis becomes more and more commonplace, reasonable people might wonder why Congress hasn't made it easier for banks to serve legal cannabis businesses. But maybe giving big banks and capital markets a green light to dive into cannabis with both feet is an outcome worth avoiding.
September 19 -
Republican Josh Hawley, the senior senator from Missouri, says he intends to offer legislation that would cap credit card rates at 18%. For a bill designed to go nowhere, it's a surprisingly good idea.
September 12
