Opinions

Some banks are removing the term “sales” from training materials out of fear regulators will accuse them of unethical, high-pressure tactics. But that’s an overreaction to federal probes of extreme cases — sales are essential to growth.

Binance Holdings Ltd. is under investigation by the Justice Department and IRS, ensnaring the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange in U.S. efforts to root out illicit activity that’s thrived in the red-hot but mostly unregulated market.

Regulators around the world are exploring how to assess banks' exposures to climate change risks. But they'll have to tackle legal, economic and modeling problems that don’t have obvious solutions.

Some worry the Senate’s rejection of the OCC rule hampers efforts to clarify legal standards for banks selling loans to fintechs.

A Federal Reserve proposal that would require banks to give merchants more choices in routing certain debit transactions could be a prelude to a more consequential change: a lower cap on interchange fees for banks with more than $10 billion of assets.

Three Republicans joined Senate Democrats in voting to overturn a rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that makes it easier for national banks to sell loans to nonbanks. A companion resolution has been introduced in the House.

Collectors are mulling a procedural overhaul after a three-judge panel said the practice of using vendors to inform consumers about outstanding debts is illegal. The case may also complicate the CFPB's upcoming rule on electronic messaging.

Chairman Jelena McWilliams said the agency will issue a request for information "to learn more about what banks are doing, what banks are considering doing and what, if anything, the FDIC should be doing in this space.”

While the eventual emergence from lockdown will help ease the pressure on overworked compliance departments, there is still an obvious need for tools that will make the anti-money laundering process simpler and stress-free, says SmartSearch's Martin Cheek.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said he plans to prioritize "solving urgent problems and addressing pressing issues" until the Biden administration selects a permanent head of the agency.