Dodd-Frank

The news is full of debate over a replacement for Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, but the delays in filling seats on another important government panel — the Federal Reserve Board — should get more attention.

The Federal Reserve Board unanimously voted to release a proposal Friday to limit the exposures between systemically risky bank holding companies in a move that reflects not only an evolution in the agency's finesse but a change in the pressures it is facing.

The regulatory system is "broken from start to finish" and is allowing banks and other big firms to wear down regulators until they get what they want, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a speech Thursday.

The agency recently cited providing equal access to small-business loans as one of nine top priorities for the next two years, saying it plans to build a team dedicated to the issue and infrastructure "to intake and analyze small-business lending complaints." But bankers worry it may go too far.

Lenders are becoming more reluctant to share closing documents with real estate agents now that they have more responsibility for them, the National Association of Realtors claimed Thursday.

The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill 34-22 Wednesday that would require financial regulators to tailor rules to ensure they are appropriate for small banks — but the measure continues to face significant Democratic opposition.

In almost any other election cycle, bankers would be celebrating the fact that a Republican candidate has emerged so far in front of the pack and would quickly fall in line behind him. But this has been anything but a normal election cycle, and there are a whole host of reasons that bankers will be at least as reluctant to embrace the outspoken businessman Donald Trump as the Republican establishment has been.

Bankers are still grappling with vendor software problems, longer processing times and delays in mortgage closings as a result of new disclosures that went into effect four months ago, according to a new survey by the American Bankers Association.

Estimates of nonbank mortgage providers that will close or change hands should worry consumers and policymakers about access to credit.

WASHINGTON — A bank regulatory relief plan put forward by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig is getting support in the House.