Opinions

Rohit Chopra, who was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's first student loan ombudsman, is expected to crack down on unfair debt collection and other practices once he is confirmed by the Senate to lead the bureau. Observers predict he'll work closely with former CFPB Director Richard Cordray, who now oversees the Education Department’s $1.7 trillion portfolio of federal student loans.

Nine of the 12 largest banking companies in the U.S. proposed higher quarterly payouts to shareholders. In announcing the actions, the banks touted their strength after more than a year of economic dislocation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a temporary final rule that allows mortgage servicers to initiate foreclosures on abandoned properties and certain delinquent borrowers, but it also outlined additional measures that shield distressed homeowners.

Fed Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles says the benefits of a central bank digital currency are “unclear,” and that a digital dollar could actually “pose significant and concrete risks.”

Some of the 23 large banks that participated in last week’s stress tests will be better positioned to reward shareholders than others, since they padded their capital amid the pandemic. Still, all are expected to tread cautiously amid ongoing economic uncertainty.

The House has passed legislation that would make financial institutions report credit application data relating to LGBTQ-owned businesses to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the purposes of enforcing fair lending laws.

President Biden has informed the Senate he wants Uejio, the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to be an assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Four companies — Regions Financial, MUFG Americas Holdings and the U.S. arms of the Royal Bank of Canada, BMO Financial— felt they had something to prove to the Federal Reserve after being assigned higher capital buffers than most of their peers last year. Will their decisions pay off for shareholders?

The Federal Reserve found that under its harshest stress-test scenario, bank capital ratios would decline to 10.6% on average — well above the 4.5% minimum requirement. Restrictions imposed on dividend payments and share repurchases during the economic crisis last year will be lifted after June 30.

The House voted on Thursday to dismantle a Trump-era rule that sought to make it easier for national banks to make and sell loans through fintech partnerships.