OCC

Readers react to trends in public banking, weigh potential changes for brokered deposits, consider oversight of foreign banks and more.

The effort to raise the threshold for transactions excused from appraisal requirements responds to concerns that the current threshold is outpaced by real estate prices.

Regulators have made progress on revising stress tests, the Volcker Rule and other post-crisis measures. But some worry examiners still have too much latitude to punish banks for trivial matters.

Payday lenders argue that banks cut ties with their industry due to pressure from biased and hostile regulators. But the reality, in some cases, may be more nuanced.

Federal and state regulators Thursday offered a slew of regulatory relief measures to banks and credit unions affected by the disastrous California wildfires.

The FDIC is seeking comment on how to encourage small-dollar lending at banks, signaling a course change from guidance it issued five years ago restricting such loans.

In a speech in Japan, the comptroller of the currency urged overseas institutions to consider a “single regulatory framework” instead of applying to multiple states.

While they won’t be in position to enact legislation, House Democrats could use their newfound power to spotlight issues that Republicans have largely ignored, including the exploding levels of corporate debt.

Top executives at Advance America acknowledged that anti-money-laundering concerns at banks were likely the cause of account terminations, even as they publicly blamed a stealth regulatory campaign.

Examiners could have done more to minimize the brunt to the Deposit Insurance Fund from Washington Federal Bank for Savings, which hid fraudulent loans and will cost the fund more than $80 million, according to a report from the Treasury’s inspector general.