Opinions

Esther George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, says changes in the office sector and monetary policy pose potential risks to property owners and their lenders.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is the second U.S. regulator to outline strategic planning and other steps banks with more than $100 billion of assets can take to minimize damage from severe weather events and the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is accusing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of pressuring Equifax, Experian and Transunion into removing most medical debt from credit reports, a move he says would compromise lenders' ability to gauge risk. Democrats, experts who testified at a hearing Tuesday and the CFPB pushed back.

Banks must comply quickly with fast-moving sanctions against the Kremlin and have to spot questionable Russian companies and wealthy individuals. At the same time, some need to deal with settlement risk of trades that involve rubles. Sophisticated data sharing and analysis are making it easier to do the job.

The White House's $5.8 trillion spending proposal to Congress includes more dollars for anti-money-laundering enforcement, Small Business Administration loan guarantee programs and affordable housing financed by community development financial institutions.

Not all reforms are created equal. Only those truly taking a consumer-first approach — such as curtailing fees and allowing for grace periods — will see lasting benefits in customer loyalty, writes the acting comptroller of the currency.

The agency will create a deputy comptroller position responsible for “novel” banking providers, redraw its territories and more closely align its examiner staffs for small and medium-size banks.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has submitted its request for information — which asks whether banks should bear the burden of proof in merger applications and how much input the CFPB should have in approving deals — to the Federal Register.

Home prices have increased at their fastest rate since the mid-2000s housing boom and driven skyrocketing inflation. Fed Gov. Christopher Waller says lenders are better prepared for a shock than in 2007 but still need to be monitored — especially nonbank lenders.

A push by Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis, one of the crypto industry’s staunchest supporters in Congress, to write a new law for digital assets is getting the support of at least one Democrat.