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 bill, which also exempts community banks from the trading ban named for former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, would go a step further than the regulatory relief bill that passed the Senate.
House Speaker Paul Ryan's decision not to seek re-election is another sign of the difficulties Republicans will likely face holding the chamber in November, heightening pressure to move a pending regulatory relief bill as soon as possible.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., questioned Bank of America's decision to discontinue free online checking accounts used by many low-income consumers in light of the bank's recent profits and corporate tax cuts.
The House Financial Services Committee chairman is calling out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator for authorizing payments to two housing trust funds while the mortgage giants have their own financial struggles.
The legislation, introduced by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., would essentially reverse a court ruling that marketplace lenders say has blocked them from helping more consumers access credit.
The legislation, a similar version of which passed in the last Congress, would give favorable regulatory treatment to certain loans even if real estate-related fees were paid to an affiliate of the lender.
Top Democrats in the House and Senate sent a letter to Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday questioning his decision to delay the implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s payday loan rule.
Over the past year, the focus of several banking policymakers has been how much the regulatory pendulum might swing back toward the industry’s liking. That theme will likely continue in 2018.
