Neil Haggerty

The new administration is wasting no time assembling a team of regulatory appointees and urging agencies to pause pending rules.

Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen told senators that as Treasury secretary she would create a “hub” to examine the effects of a changing climate on financial institutions and create a database of companies' true owners as required by a recent anti-money-laundering bill.

The odds are better now that Congress will pass a bill to help financial institutions serve cannabis businesses, but the question of the legislative path forward has grown murkier.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said elevating affordable housing issues, examining the financial system through a climate and racial justice "lens" and holding banks accountable for their impact on consumers will be among his priorities.

Following similar decisions by big banks, the Consumer Bankers Association and Mortgage Bankers Association said they will halt all political contributions to elected officials as some lawmakers face harsh criticism for comments that incited the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio signaled a change in direction for the Banking Committee under Democratic control, on the same day he called for President Trump's ouster after the U.S. Capitol riot.

Now that Democrats have won control of the Senate following the Georgia runoffs, experts say tax increases, progressive regulators and stricter congressional oversight await. Still, there could be some positives for banks, too.

The Georgia runoffs and resulting balance of power in Congress will help determine which bills on bankers’ wish list gain traction. But regardless, existing coronavirus relief such as the Paycheck Protection Program and a push for more economic aid will remain top of mind for lawmakers and the industry.

The agency said Omni Financial in Las Vegas illegally required service members to designate a portion of their paychecks to repay loans, depriving of them of other payment options.

The top Democrats on the House and Senate banking committees urged the Trump administration to pull the plug on any steps to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the pandemic still taking a toll on the economy.

The proposal would require the government-sponsored enterprises to craft resolution plans similar to regulations imposed on the largest U.S. banks.

The consumer bureau said the bank’s migration to a new servicing platform led to unauthorized payment withdrawals, misrepresentations about what borrowers owed and violations of a prior 2015 enforcement action.

Congress’s passage of a measure requiring startup companies — instead of their banks — to identify true owners was arguably the industry’s biggest legislative achievement in 2020. Now the industry is urging lawmakers to revisit proposals that would ease other anti-money-laundering reporting requirements.

The Pennsylvania senator, who will chair the Banking Committee if Republicans hold their majority, agreed to modify an amendment restricting the Federal Reserve’s emergency powers that Democrats had criticized as too extreme.

The amendment backed by Sen. Pat Toomey and other Republicans to block the central bank from reviving CARES Act lending facilities has emerged as a flashpoint in congressional negotiations over pandemic relief.

The Federal Reserve has already agreed to shut down emergency credit programs funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, but Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and others want Congress to ensure the central bank cannot revive them.

The defense spending bill includes language requiring businesses to report their owners to Fincen.

The head of the House Financial Services Committee is already exerting influence by handing the president-elect a laundry list of Trump regulatory policies that she wants the incoming administration to reverse.

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters urged the incoming administration to overhaul policies on payday lending and the Community Reinvestment Act and make personnel changes at two agencies.

Banking trade organizations are usually cautious about making endorsements. But with Democrats winning the White House and control of Congress on the line in the two races, some groups are pouring in cash for the GOP candidates.