Opinions

The Houston company has agreed to pay a $3 million penalty, provide $4 million in loan subsidies to new borrowers and make other investments aimed at improving home buying opportunities for Black and Hispanic households.

Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard spoke with the Biden-Harris Federal Reserve transition team in January and with the president’s Council of Economic Advisers in May, her calendar shows.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Trump administration had been preoccupied with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s capital position. Acting Director Sandra Thompson has shifted the agency’s focus to affordable housing and fair lending.

Consumer advocates have long wanted to restrict banks' ability to collect overdraft fees. The Empire State's new law represents a small but consequential breakthrough as they push for nationwide reform.

Regulators and the Biden administration are considering how to respond to the sharp growth in digital assets pegged to fiat currency. Their options include establishing rules like those for bank deposits and having the Federal Reserve issue a digital dollar that competes with private-sector stablecoins.

The U.S.’s measured approach will allow it to learn from other countries that are pioneering their own cryptocurrencies, according to executives from IBM, R3 and Public Mint.

The Federal Reserve has been circumspect about whether it will issue its own digital currency. Observers are looking to an upcoming report by the central bank for clarity about its intentions and how a digital dollar would work with private stablecoins.

Community banks have played and will continue to play a key role in supporting local economies across the country. Join us in a lively conversation with Dennis E. Nixon, President & CEO of International Bank of Commerce (Laredo, Texas) & Chairman, International Bancshares Corporation and Eddie Aldrete, Senior Vice President at International Bank of Commerce as we discuss: (1) the need for bankers and the business community to become involved in political issues. From minimum wage and issues that affect small businesses to regulatory issues that directly affect the banking industry, banking and business leaders need to be thought leaders in the public conversation and (2) how bankers can play a pivotal advocacy role in the free trade process.

The regional Fed bank said it was making the move “due to the recently elevated COVID-19 health risk level in Teton County, Wyoming.”

Critics of consolidation say the Federal Reserve and other agencies are too quick to greenlight bank deals. But the truth is banks face many hurdles to merger approval, and they don’t bother to apply — or take a hint and withdraw their applications — if they can’t clear them all.