Jelena McWilliams

“We have actually discouraged banks from innovating,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said in announcing a move that other agencies have made.

The agency’s biennial survey showed gradual improvement in access to mainstream banks, but over 14 million adults lack ties to a federally insured institution.

Many bankers say the agency needs to rethink its definition of brokered deposits and how it sets interest rate caps.

The heavy workload is not limited to implementing the financial regulatory reform bill enacted last spring, as the agencies also work to craft reforms of the Community Reinvestment Act and adjust key capital measures for the biggest banks.

A new agency Web page has information on nearly every aspect of the agency's operations, including de novo applications, bank exams and failures.

Applications this year are more than double the 2017 mark and the most since 2009. But with some fintechs withdrawing their bids, observers are urging caution.

Seven Republican senators urged regulators on Monday to consider additional changes to the Volcker Rule's "covered funds" definition.

The agency found that banks with less than $10 billion in assets were more prone than larger lenders to go beyond using standard criteria in evaluating borrowers.

The proposal, required by the regulatory relief package that Congress passed in May, would exempt the healthiest banks from having to count reciprocal deposits as brokered deposits.

The Senate Banking Committee said it is postponing a hearing on the implementation of regulatory relief for "logistical reasons."