Financial regulations

The National Credit Union Administration board voted Thursday to advance a proposed rule that would loosen existing regulations and allow credit unions to purchase member loans from fintechs.

The National Credit Union Administration has asked Congress to restore its authority over credit union service organizations and other vendors, but some in the industry say the regulator already has enough on its plate.

The rule, which is not due out until 2024, will promote competition among financial institutions and data aggregators, Consumer Financial Protection Director Rohit Chopra said at a fintech conference.

Regulators have been sending out warning signals about the partnerships between banks and fintechs. Does this mean banks and fintechs have to change what they're doing?

In her last week in office, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chair discusses why she worries about the dwindling number of community banks and minority-owned banks, why she has made serving low-income communities a priority during her tenure, and what she might do next.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's inquiry into buy into the installment products should make sure fintechs abide by the same underwriting requirements as banks in this growing market.

Consumers and their credit scores could be put at considerable risk unless regulators establish meaningful safeguards.

The bureau said two rules related to communications with debtors will go into effect as originally planned on Nov. 30. The agency had previously proposed an extension to consider consumer advocates' concerns about the regulations.

A Senate hearing highlighted the two parties' starkly different views of digital assets, with Democrats warning of price manipulation and Republicans saying the government should just get out of the way.

Graham Steele, a former Senate Banking Committee staffer who has supported strong regulation, was named as the administration's choice for assistant secretary of financial institutions.

The central bank said the proposed measure governing transactions on FedNow — a real-time service expected to be available in 2023 — would be similar to the framework for the current Fedwire Funds Service.

Some bank regulators are allowing companies that offer digital currencies to apply for a charter, potentially giving them a path to the Federal Reserve system without proper oversight.

Some bank regulators are allowing companies that offer digital currencies to apply for a charter, potentially giving them a path to the Federal Reserve system without proper oversight.

Detecting business dealings with banned parties means screening a maze of transactions, and Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control supports calls for the industry to take a risk-based approach. But regulators effectively require banks to track everything, which is unproductive.

The jockeying over who President Biden should appoint to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has focused attention on how to regulate the fintech sector, but the discussion has glossed over flaws in the agency's funding structure that have persisted across administrations.

A voluntary effort to include more members of underrepresented groups in the C-suite and on corporate boards would help banks avoid government mandates.

The regulator must rediscover bipartisanship and collaboration while ensuring new regulations don't overstep the Federal Credit Union Act.

Todd Harper, a Democrat, says he will continue his efforts to increase the agency's consumer advocacy role, despite opposition from the industry and two Republican board members.

Harper, a Democrat, had long been expected to be promoted to the chairmanship under a Biden administration, but he could face an uphill climb moving his priorities forward.

A bill updating the commonwealth's credit union act, signed into law on Jan. 12, is said to be the most comprehensive update of the state charter in 30 years.