OCC

Banks would be better able to comply with anti-money-laundering laws if all 50 states collected information on the owners of new corporations and published it in a national database, Comptroller Joseph Otting said Monday.

The comptroller, now a year and a half on the job, discusses his attempts to revamp the supervision process for national banks and make the agency run more efficiently.

Democrats and Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee called for steps to minimize the harm to community banks and credit unions bracing for the new accounting standard.

As evidenced by a Senate hearing, Republican and Democratic lawmakers still live in alternative universes when it comes to financial regulatory policy.

A recent court decision allowing New York’s financial regulator to proceed in a case meant to block the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency from offering fintechs a new federal banking charter is having a chilling effect on potential applicants.

A sharp disagreement between foreign and U.S. regulators is emerging on how far banking supervisors should go in asking financial institutions to stress test their loan and investment portfolios for any risks associated with climate change.

It is designed exclusively to address concerns of regulators who have complained about the bank's lack of progress in recovering from a series of scandals.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had sought to dismiss the case, but a court ruling suggested that the state regulator’s claim may have merit.

The head of the agency's innovation office said the program will be available only to OCC-regulated institutions.

FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams revealed an effort by the banking agencies to gain better clarity on how authorities use the huge amounts of suspicious activity reports that banks must submit under anti-money-laundering laws.

Colin Walsh, Varo’s chief executive, says the disruptor has hired several former regulatory officials to help in what has admittedly been “a difficult process.”

The proposed program would allow companies to test innovative products that “present significant opportunities or benefits” for consumers, businesses and other financial institutions.

Bradley Linskens, the former examiner-in-charge at Wells Fargo, faced scrutiny for his conduct as the top examiner of the scandal-plagued bank.

The fintech company, which was forced to rebrand its cash management product last year after misleading marketing caused a backlash, is seeking a national bank charter.

The Massachusetts Democrat said the agency could have used existing statutory authority to object to the bank’s appointment of now-departed CEO Tim Sloan.

The San Francisco bank is under pressure from investors to get out from under a Fed-imposed asset cap and to hire a new permanent CEO. But executives said Friday that thoroughness is more important than speed.

Senior officials at the OCC, FDIC and Fed signaled they agree more than they disagree on a plan to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act.

The heads of three agencies reiterated their concern about the bank’s progress in fixing risk management and corporate governance flaws.

The Treasury secretary told the House Financial Services Committee that he has been in coordination with the U.S. bank regulators to soften the impact of the United Kingdom potentially failing to strike a deal on its exit from the European Union.

Community banks are open to working with innovative financial startups, but regulators must ensure they face the same oversight standards as traditional banks.