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.
-
President-elect Trump's embrace of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance is a political gambit that has already paid off. But greenlighting crypto's intermingling with traditional finance would create an asset bubble that would be especially painful to pop.
December 3 -
In a string of speeches last week, the top federal banking regulators outlined goals and framed their thinking about artificial intelligence in financial services, but the biggest questions around liability and widespread adoption remain unanswered.
November 26 -
While the risks, benefits and magnitude of artificial intelligence's impact on financial services remain unclear, agencies should keep an open mind toward the technology and avoid reflexive risk aversion in bank supervision, Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman said.
November 22 -
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said the FICO credit-scoring model has drawbacks in price, predictiveness and market competition, and stakeholders should develop a more open-sourced model that uses artificial intelligence.
November 21 -
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said that while artificial intelligence is a potentially transformative technology, regulators should be wary of waiving liability for its use in banking.
November 21 -
The president-elect's sweeping victory last week suggests a mandate from voters to bring back the economy he presided over in his prior term. But his policies on immigration, trade and federal spending could give voters — and banks — exactly what they don't want.
November 12 -
The Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee will announce its interest rate decision at 2pm, followed by a press conference with Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. Markets are expecting a 25 basis point rate cut at today's meeting.
November 7 -
President Trump initiated changes at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in his first term, and the industry's frustration with the bureau has grown since he left office. But how far a second Trump administration can or will go depends on factors outside the president's control.
November 6 -
Banks have favored the low-regulation vision of former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, but his victory could imperil institutions and norms that banks rely on. Vice President Kamala Harris is more likely to preserve the status quo — including the Biden regulatory agenda.
November 5 -
The revised edition of the Basel III endgame capital rules has been stuck in limbo at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board of directors. The issue there seems to be about the process of reproposal — but the process dictates the substance of the rule.
October 29
