OCC

Three Republicans joined Senate Democrats in voting to overturn a rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that makes it easier for national banks to sell loans to nonbanks. A companion resolution has been introduced in the House.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said he plans to prioritize "solving urgent problems and addressing pressing issues" until the Biden administration selects a permanent head of the agency.

The Treasury Department announced that Michael Hsu, a senior official at the Federal Reserve, would lead the national bank regulator until a Senate-confirmed comptroller is in place.

Critics say the regulation issued by the Office of the Comptroller Currency is a gift to predatory lenders. But the trade organizations warned lawmakers that invalidating it will make it difficult for the agency to create an improved framework in the future.

Organizations representing banks and other financial services firms said implementing the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's overhaul of the Community Reinvestment Act could be wasteful as regulators discuss a new interagency plan to modernize the law.

The Biden administration may finally be close to naming an acting comptroller of the currency. Whoever gets the interim job or is confirmed to run the agency over the longer term will have a lengthy to-do list, from Community Reinvestment Act reform to deciding the fate of divisive Trump-era rules.

The industry has raised concerns about nontraditional bank owners, and some lawmakers have backed limits for industrial loan companies and cryptocurrency firms. But members of the House and Senate have been unable to reach a consensus on legislation.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to name Michael Hsu, associate director of bank supervision at the Federal Reserve, to be the acting comptroller of the currency, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A group representing bank directors says the regulator’s sudden attempt to increase penalties by millions of dollars would set a dangerous precedent.

Democratic senators seek to block the "true lender" regulation, which they say lets national banks sell loans to lenders who then avoid state usury caps. Republicans say overturning the rule would restrict access to credit.

Banks could be a better option than payday lenders to meet consumers’ short-term credit needs. But all the OCC’s regulation does is enable partnerships that circumvent state usury laws.

The Senate Banking Committee chairman told an audience of community bankers that he supports legislation to close "chartering loopholes" for industrial loan companies and financial technology firms. He also pitched a plan to give all consumers a free digital wallet backed by the Federal Reserve.

The custody service provider, which will maintain a New York license in addition to its national charter, is one of several cryptocurrency companies to apply to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Three months into President Biden’s term, the White House has yet to select a nominee to run the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or pick an acting chief. That inaction will make it more difficult for Democrats to unwind Trump-era policies, critics say.

The agency’s cases against David Julian, Claudia Russ Anderson and Paul McLinko, which allege culpability for the bank’s phony-accounts scandal, are scheduled to go to trial in September.

Consumer advocates say "income share agreements" like those issued by Blue Ridge Bank of Martinsville, Va., and a Boston CDFI should have to comply with laws that govern more traditional credit products.

Regulators are likely to scrap the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s divisive rule and instead pursue an interagency framework. But stakeholders commenting on a Federal Reserve draft plan say several aspects of the OCC regulation are worth keeping.

Harper is only the third member of the National Credit Union Administration board to chair the council. Blake Paulson, acting comptroller of the currency, has been appointed vice chairman.

The federal banking and credit union agencies want input about how financial institutions use artificial intelligence for credit underwriting and other purposes, and about whether additional regulatory guidance is needed.

Mehrsa Baradaran, a University of California, Irvine, professor and former banking lawyer, has worked hard to close the racial wealth gap and could further such goals as head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, wrote 34 caucus members in a letter to President Biden.