Treasury Department

Many of Treasury’s recommendations for modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act would help financial institutions, not low-income communities.

The rules to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act have become "formulaic and ossified" and must be changed to encourage lending practices the law originally intended to foster, the Fed's top regulator said.

The Treasury Department’s long-awaited report on modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act was heavy on glittering generalities but light on specifics, which explains why the report punted the real job of making needed reforms.

Critics argue that Community Reinvestment Act standards need to be more transparent, but creating more objective measures would require regulators to favor some types of loans over others.

The Treasury secretary has suggested raising an asset cutoff used by the Financial Stability Oversight Council to assess systemically significant nonbanks, removing some hedge funds and other risky firms from the council's purview.

British banks that deal with the Russian oligarchs and companies on a new American sanctions list will face "consequences," according to a senior U.S. Treasury official.

Bank regulators have not even proposed a plan yet for revamping the Community Reinvestment Act, but stakeholders likely to weigh in on the plan are already establishing battle lines.

GSE reform a likely scratch from this year’s to-do list; banks’ difficulties in speaking emoji; reactions to Mick Mulvaney’s plans for the CFPB; and more.

The Treasury Department's inspector general is seeking the identity of an Office of Financial Research employee who produced several YouTube videos that raised concerns about discrimination and diversity problems.

The financial services industry and community reinvestment advocates both praised the Treasury Department’s recommendations for reforming Community Reinvestment Act enforcement.

The Treasury's recommendations come as federal bank regulators have indicated they will soon release a proposal to reform Community Reinvestment Act policy.

Banks should ensure that their employees are nimble enough to react when unexpected situations arise, just as many had to do during the 2008 crisis.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions made headlines in January when he tightened federal marijuana enforcement. But the good news for financial institutions looking to service the pot industry is that the rest of the government has responded with a shrug.

News that the GSEs need an infusion from Treasury to cover quarterly losses underscores problems with the government’s 2012 decision to “sweep” the housing giants’ profits.

As government officials reconsider how best to wind down large financial institutions, they should ensure the banking agencies have flexibility to act without disrupting markets.

Banking and affordable housing advocates are encouraged by a provision in the tax reform legislation that could increase investment in underserved communities by allowing investors to defer capital gains taxes when they reinvest in federally chartered Opportunity Funds.

A top Treasury Department official on Monday said the administration's forthcoming report on regulating nonbanks will tackle questions around financial technology companies and whether they need to be regulated more like banks.

As Congress considers new rules for digital currencies, lawmakers should consider putting responsibility in the hands of the Treasury Department, given its role in handling traditional currency.

A recent report from the agency settles a long-running debate about whether bankruptcy should replace Dodd-Frank’s “orderly liquidation authority.” The financial system needs both.

It’s unlikely a new chapter of the bankruptcy code for banks would be used in times of crisis or strengthen market discipline.