FDIC

Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting explains why his agency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have moved forward with a proposal to change the 42-year-old CRA.

Regulators’ sweeping proposal to reform implementation of the Community Reinvestment Act has drawn strong opinions on both sides.

The proposal comes after years of criticism that the current policy stifles innovation and hamstrings banks' ability to raise funds.

The long-awaited proposal by the OCC and FDIC to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act would seek to make grading simpler and more transparent while allowing banks to spread loans and investments across a broader geographic area.

In a rare move, the House Financial Services Committee chairwoman will lead a congressional delegation to a public FDIC board meeting as it considers releasing a proposal to rework the Community Reinvestment Act.

The Fed chairman said he has not given up on the central bank agreeing with other regulatory agencies on a plan to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act, but admitted, "I don’t know whether that will be possible or not.”

The supervisory letter had required the company to get Fed approval before issuing debt, paying dividends or making quarterly payments on its trust-preferred securities.

Chairman Jelena McWilliams previewed a proposal to update the agency’s definition of brokered funds, but also suggested steps lawmakers could take to improve the rule’s underlying statute.

The Rakuten application has piqued interest in reviving legislation aimed at stopping commercial firms from owning banks. Yet Congress previously had the chance to enact such a measure and declined.

Cost cutting and systems integrations are short-term priorities, but over time CEO Kelly King and his heir apparent, Bill Rogers, will have to exploit the combined BB&T-SunTrust's revenue potential and prove the biggest post-crisis merger was a good idea.