Opinions

DTCC Moving to the Blockchain; Goldman hires Wiesel as tech chief; Donald Trump's team divided

Two influential Democratic senators' surprise objections to the OCC's fintech charter show that the initiative may be more politically fraught than the industry and agency expected.

The Federal Housing Administration said it would cut the annual premium by 25 basis points starting on Jan. 27, giving President-elect Donald Trump a limited window to delay or scrap the cut.

In a letter Monday to Comptroller Thomas Curry, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., registered their strong opposition to the concept of the charter, which would allow certain types of fintech companies to avoid state licensing requirements by obtaining a limited-purpose national bank charter.

HSBC was fined $32.5 million for failing to comply with a 2011 consent order that directed the bank to revamp its mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices.

The persistent opposition to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — which has been fierce since day one — has been puzzling, and has been cloaked in misleading arguments about the structure of the agency.

The dominance of the sector by the Big Four accounting firms poses its own systemic-risk concerns and prompts questions about how other mega-companies are audited.

The burden of paying off student loans is increasingly falling on parents and grandparents, and a new report from the CFPB finds that these older borrowers are having a tough time making payments.

The House Financial Services Committee will see a shuffling of deck chairs among the leadership of its subcommittees in the new Congress as it also welcomes ten new Republican members.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday announced several changes to its senior management team.