Neil Haggerty

The industry says the 2017 cut in the corporate rate helped position lenders to support the economy when the pandemic hit. But a plan proposed by Democratic nominee Joe Biden could strain banks' capital investment and hiring, observers say.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a potential chair of the Senate Banking Committee in the next Congress, is expected to announce that he is not running in 2022.

New research reveals the financial services industry both prefers and predicts an incumbent win in November.

The news media investigation of transactions by nefarious actors puts certain large banks in a negative light, but it also points to inefficient use of suspicious activity reports and other anti-money-laundering issues that the industry has decried for years.

Measures designed to give banks and credit unions more flexibility to help customers weather the coronavirus pandemic are set to expire Dec. 31 unless Congress renews them.

The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Fed’s supervisory regime for the biggest financial institutions, reform of the Community Reinvestment Act and a host of other industry-related issues are on the ballot this November.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been slammed for planning an additional refinancing charge to cover COVID-related losses, but the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency defended the policy in House testimony.

Legislation favorable to the industry would be unlikely to pass in a divided Congress, but the biggest benefit for banks and credit unions of Republicans' retaining control of the chamber would be defending against the disruption of a Democratic blue wave.

The Senate Banking Committee met Wednesday to review central bank lending facilities such as the Main Street Lending Program, which provides bank-issued loans to middle-market firms. But some lawmakers on the panel said the focus of pandemic relief has been misplaced.

Several community banks are warning Congress that their participation in the Paycheck Protection Program could cause them to cross a threshold that may lead to, among other things, supervision by the CFPB and a cap on interchange fees.