OCC

It would force national banks to make loans to high-risk industries that often pose dangers to vulnerable communities. The next comptroller of the currency should instead promote equal credit availability for consumers who need it most.

The new administration is wasting no time assembling a team of regulatory appointees and urging agencies to pause pending rules.

Michael Barr helped write the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act while serving under Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

The administration faces a slew of immediate financial policy tasks, such as passing a new round of small-business aid, charting a course for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and filling vacant agency leadership posts.

The OCC had hit James Strother and other executives with civil charges a year ago in connection with the bank's phony-accounts scandal. His monetary penalty is lower than what the agency had first floated.

Issued in the final days of the Trump administration, the regulation has united banks, gun-control advocates and environmentalists in opposition. It could be blocked by Congress or a comptroller chosen by the new president.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized a rulemaking Thursday morning opposed by the industry that forces the largest banks to provide services to gun businesses and other sectors to which banks have curtailed lending.

Brian Brooks may be remembered as one of the most controversial interim regulatory chiefs in recent memory, taking positions on the pandemic response, fintechs’ banking ambitions and other issues that won him supporters and critics alike.

A co-founder of Anchorage Trust Co. said its digital bank, which will not take insured deposits, will enable the company to strengthen partnerships with financial institutions that offer custody services for clients’ cryptocurrency assets.

Several financial tech companies that applied to become national banks are seeking exemptions from many provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act. A consumer advocacy group and the American Bankers Association say the OCC mustn't allow this.

Brian Brooks is planning to leave the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency within days, according to a published report and a source familiar with the situation.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency appears intent on being the federal chartering agency for tech firms with banking ambitions. But some experts say the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is better suited for the job.

In memos to their staffs, acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger denounced the violence perpetrated by President Trump's supporters and said both agencies remain in operation.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks pushed back on a recommendation from a task force — appointed by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — suggesting that Congress should give the CFPB the authority to charter and regulate fintechs.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s proposal to ensure banking services are available to polarizing businesses contradicts long-standing guidance on managing reputational risk, big banks argue. But gun makers, energy firms and others say it would correct an injustice.

A panel appointed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Congress should consider authorizing the bureau — and not the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — to issue federal charters to fintech companies.

Seven states and the District of Columbia want to invalidate a new federal rule that threatens to hinder states’ power to cap interest rates on consumer loans.

Several government agencies have made deeper moves into crypto oversight, leaving a trail of angry executives and unresolved political questions. And there's still no sign of a central bank digital currency, leaving the U.S. at risk of falling behind other countries in the race to support faster payment processing.

The digital currency and related distributed-ledger technologies could "enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and stability of the provision of payments," according to an interpretive letter issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The next administration must halt the practice of allowing new entrants into the banking system to forgo a full Community Reinvestment Act exam.