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 said regulators urgently need to implement the Basel III endgame bank capital proposal, suggesting his opposition to the revised rule centers on the process of re-proposal rather than more substantive opposition to suggested revisions.
October 24 -
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said opposition to the bureau's recently finalized open banking rule should be viewed as banks and other large firms attempting to quash competition and stymie consumer data protection.
October 23 -
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said the bankruptcy of Synapse earlier this year highlights regulatory gaps around the state-based licensing of businesses that transfer money.
October 22 -
Regulators' asset cap on TD Bank for money-laundering violations has cemented the enforcement tool as a supreme cudgel to rein in problem banks, while other tools devised in the wake of the Great Financial Crisis gather dust.
October 15 -
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors cast doubt on an initiative unveiled by Treasury Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Nellie Liang that would establish a federal regulatory framework for domestic payments, saying that state-level supervision "does not … constitute a regulatory gap."
October 10 -
The Federal Reserve's apparent unwillingness to disclose volumetric details about banks' use of its proprietary faster payments network suggests the central bank is hiding something. That something could be the slow death of faster payments as the new normal.
October 1 -
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra's decision to withhold support of a reworked Basel III endgame capital proposal is logical as a way to gain leverage in this and future rule negotiations but may ultimately not amount to much.
September 24 -
Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' pitch for an "opportunity economy" is a sound political and economic vision. But banks must be a partner in making that vision into a reality.
September 17 -
In his reset of the Basel III endgame proposal outlined Tuesday, Federal Reserve Vice Chair of Supervision Michael Barr deemphasized the connection between last year's bank failures and raising capital. That makes a world of sense.
September 10 -
The Federal Reserve's independence in setting monetary policy is critical to global confidence in U.S. markets and the dollar's status as reserve currency of choice. Making those functions constitutionally separate from the executive branch is the best way to ensure that independence.
September 3
