Neil Haggerty

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.

Following their disagreement about emergency funds mandated by the last big relief package, the Treasury secretary and Fed chief urged House lawmakers to pass another stimulus bill by the end of the year.

Tuesday's hearing on the CARES Act was dominated by bickering over Treasury's decision to shut down the Fed's emergency lending facilities, drowning out pleas from some lawmakers for more aid.

The agency finalized a policy allowing companies to submit formal requests for clarification on a regulatory issue. The bureau said it will publish the advisory rulings in the Federal Register.

Banks are responsible for reporting their business customers' beneficial owners, but a bill that would shift that anti-money-laundering duty to businesses themselves has been added to a must-pass defense spending package.

If Congress speeds through Brian Brooks’ confirmation in the waning days of the Trump administration, it could make it harder for President-elect Biden to quickly put his stamp on banking policy.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., who would likely chair the Banking Committee if the GOP retains control of the chamber, signaled support for helping banks serve marijuana businesses. But he is skeptical of an anti-money-laundering bill backed by the industry and extensions of the Fed's pandemic programs.

If the GOP can hold its majority in the chamber, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., will likely become the panel's chairman. His ardent support for free-market principles could set up partisan clashes with Democrats over pandemic relief, money laundering rules and more.

The head of the agency told a congressional panel that the agency is taking steps to prepare for the incoming Biden administration and that she plans to serve until her tenure ends in 2023.

Regulators were receptive to Republican lawmakers' calls to ease burdens on banks that cross new asset thresholds as a result of their participation in the Paycheck Protection Program.

If Republicans keep their majority, the incoming administration will likely have to pick moderates over progressives to have any chance of getting its nominees approved.