Financial regulations

Rebeca Romero Rainey, while known as compassionate banker and less of a firebrand than her predecessor at the trade group, will take firm stands for small banks on reg relief, innovation and fair play, say those who know her.

The legislation, signed Monday by Gov. Rick Scott, authorizes 60- to 90-day loans of up to $1,000. It makes Florida the first state to pass a law designed to blunt the impact of the CFPB’s payday lending rule.

The agency's decision to lift a 2002 consent order against Ace Cash Express could lead to a revival of partnerships between national banks and payday lenders.

Credit unions will be watching as the Senate's regulatory relief bill heads to the House, but government spending and interest rates may delay that process by several weeks.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. pays women in the U.K. an average of 56% less than male colleagues, another stark example of the entrenched gender imbalances in the richest corners of the global economy.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's “Project Catalyst,” launched six years ago to help fintech companies navigate regulations, has failed to deliver.

Readers opine on the prospect of regulatory relief, weigh in on the need for regulators to become more tech savvy, react to HSBC hopping back into U.S. mortgage lending and more.

With substantial regulatory relief within reach, community bankers should use their clout to shape cybersecurity policy and ensure a level playing field for banks and nonbanks, retiring ICBA chief Cam Fine says.

The request for feedback on adopted regulations is the eighth out of a dozen such requests that acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney has initiated so far as part of a public review of all the agency's processes.

Timothy Zimmerman is optimistic about regulatory relief and the capabilities of the association's next CEO, but he remains wary of nonbank competition and cybersecurity risk.