Regulators are right to encourage environmentally responsible lending, but with the transition to a low-carbon economy likely to take decades, they can’t allow banks to cut off lending to polluting firms cold turkey — especially to those making good-faith efforts to lower emissions.

The central bank aims to roll out FedNow sometime in 2023, which is more optimistic than its previous timetable. The official leading the project noted progress in developing the infrastructure and its compatibility with private-sector solutions.

A federal watchdog is looking into former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s decision to roll back the U.S. Federal Reserve’s emergency lending programs at the end of 2020, an issue that has become a point of partisan tension in Congress.

The Federal Reserve said its decision to accept input for several more weeks reflects the logistical challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will consider the pace of coronavirus vaccinations and other factors to determine if restrictions on dividends and share repurchases will continue.

There’s a dynamic balance between the innovation and resiliency benefits of the messy, creative ferment of many smaller competitors, and an oligopoly or monopoly’s scale economies, says Intrepid Ventures' Eric Grover.

U.S. economic activity increased modestly at the end of 2020 while hiring slowed amid resurgent infections and new restrictions, even as vaccinations got underway, the Federal Reserve said.

Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard said regulators are seeking to "understand the potential benefits and risks" from utilizing artificial intelligence in the financial services sector.

The Mint’s facilities in Denver and Philadelphia worked overtime in the second half of 2020 so that banks and retailers could get more change into customers’ hands.

The Federal Reserve has returned about $42 billion to the U.S. Treasury, and will soon transfer another $20 billion in excess funds connected to emergency lending facilities that stopped offering new loans last month, it said Thursday.

American Express is reportedly under investigation by a top federal agency exploring allegations of unethical sales tactics by the company’s small-business credit card sales representatives.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin approved the extension of the Main Street Lending Program, which offers loans to midsize companies affected by the pandemic, to Jan. 8.

The Federal Reserve is credited with containing damage to the financial system from the coronavirus pandemic, but experts say the limits of the central bank’s power to prop up the economy will likely become more apparent in the new year.

The Federal Reserve and the New York State Department of Financial Services have ordered the Swiss bank’s U.S. arm to improve oversight and better monitor the activities of its customers.

The Pennsylvania senator, who will chair the Banking Committee if Republicans hold their majority, agreed to modify an amendment restricting the Federal Reserve’s emergency powers that Democrats had criticized as too extreme.

The Federal Reserve's “midcycle” assessment — conducted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic — said the path of the economic recovery is still uncertain even though the banks that were evaluated maintained adequate capital levels under hypothetical scenarios.

The amendment backed by Sen. Pat Toomey and other Republicans to block the central bank from reviving CARES Act lending facilities has emerged as a flashpoint in congressional negotiations over pandemic relief.

Speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Center for American Progress, Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard said the agency is also seeking feedback on how the Community Reinvestment Act could be used to encourage lenders to invest in climate resiliency.

The Federal Reserve has already agreed to shut down emergency credit programs funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, but Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and others want Congress to ensure the central bank cannot revive them.

His comments came a day after the Fed announced it had formally joined an international network of central bankers and regulators focused on mitigating climate risk to the financial sector.