OCC

Financial institutions want to protect customers and employees from the coronavirus but are caught in the middle of a politically charged public health debate. The stance taken by the industry’s largest trade group gives them cover.

Responding to an unnamed bank that had sought the opinion, the regulatory agency issued an interpretive letter clarifying that an institution's custody services can be used for cryptographic keys and other digital currency-related assets.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed weaknesses even at well-established fintechs. They could become more resilient by partnering with traditional financial institutions.

The OCC is proposing steps for determining which party is the "true lender," which affects how the agency oversees such arrangements.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed weaknesses even at well-established fintechs. They could become more resilient by partnering with traditional financial institutions.

If it’s approved, the charter is expected to lower the fintech’s cost of funds and allow for more product offerings. It comes nearly three years after SoFi pulled the plug on an earlier effort to open an industrial bank.

While the resolution sends a message of disapproval of the OCC’s reform of the anti-redlining law, the Republican-controlled Senate is not expected to consider the measure.

With multiple business sectors reeling from the pandemic, banks are facing tighter net interest margins, provisioning more for losses and seeing their balance sheets expand, the agency said in a report.

While they are not dramatically opposed, Jelena McWilliams and Brian Brooks have articulated their own ideas on postal banking and the use of artificial intelligence in lending.

Five financial regulatory agencies clarified the meaning of "covered funds" under the Volcker Rule. Meanwhile, the FDIC gave certain banks more flexibility in interaffiliate exchanges of swaps and adopted a workaround of a court decision governing interest rates on loans sold across state lines.