ICBA

A regulatory relief package is likely to come out of the Senate in the new year, and lawmakers could follow it up with a housing finance reform push. But the midterm elections could cause some reform initiatives to grind to a halt.

Seven trade associations — including those representing banks and credit unions — sent a joint letter to Congress outlining data security standards for entities that handle financial data.

Credit union trade associations lauded lawmakers while bankers -- predictably -- lamented the news.

The trade group wants Equifax to reimburse community banks for costs tied to the massive data breach at the credit bureau this year. The ICBA also wants a court to order Equifax to improve its security measures.

Bankers are generally happy with the House Republican tax plan released last week, but one provision of the proposed overhaul is likely to give them pause: a cutback in the deduction for deposit insurance premiums.

CUNA and NAFCU cautioned, however, that the bill is by no means final and could still change.

Discussions on a regulatory relief package between the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Banking Committee broke down late Tuesday, but members from both parties remain hopeful they can reach a bipartisan deal.

Discussions on a regulatory relief package between the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Banking Committee broke down late Tuesday, but members from both parties remain hopeful they can reach a bipartisan deal.

In a moment of rare unity, the Independent Community Bankers of America and National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions sent a joint letter to FHFA arguing to stop the GSEs' profit sweep.

The Independent Community Bankers of America is formally opposing a bank charter application by payments processor Square, accusing it of trying to “avoid” certain “legal prohibitions and restrictions.”

The Independent Community Bankers of America had initially called for a moratorium in response to SoFi's application, and says now that Square's bid "has significantly increased our concerns."

Lenders will not have to report data on open-ended home equity lines of credit in 2018 or 2019 if they originated fewer than 500 HELOCs the preceding year, the bureau said.

The marketplace lender's application for an industrial bank charter is under fire from small banks and progressives, who say it could violate the barrier between banking and commerce and shut out middle-class and lower-income consumers.

The renewed debate on reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is focused on how small and midsize banks would be affected.

The Main Street GSE Reform Coalition offered three principles: creating a capital buffer for Fannie and Freddie, continuing with reforms by their regulator and ending the conservatorship that began in 2008.

The accounting board has scheduled a meeting that bankers hope will produce eleventh-hour modifications to reserving requirements.

The trade group filed a brief backing an effort by the American Bankers Association to push back against the NCUA's planned revisions to field-of-membership regulation.

The ICBA has filed a supporting brief to the American Banker's Association's FOM suit against NCUA, but a rapid decision is unlikely, and the case has already dragged on longer than the bankers' MBL suit.

The Treasury Department significantly raised an estimate for how much the exemption will cost the government over the next decade, giving bankers some hope that their complaints are finally being heard.

The Treasury Department significantly raised an estimate for how much the exemption will cost the government over the next decade, putting credit unions on guard that bankers' arguments could be gaining traction.