Policy & Regulation

New guidelines proposed by the Federal Reserve last month do not go far enough to define who can get an account and how, according to a joint comment letter from several banking trade associations. The process has become contentious as more fintechs seek access to the reserve system.

Anchorage Digital Bank has an inadequate AML compliance program and will have to create a committee within 15 days to develop a remediation plan and submit progress reports, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is examining whether artificial intelligence discriminates against minorities and other applicants. But GreenState Credit Union in Iowa says the technology can be harnessed to make lending fairer in underserved communities.

The Federal Reserve’s most hawkish official cracked open the door to discussing the first 75-basis-point interest rate hike since 1994, a move economists say would be a last resort in case inflation further spirals out of control.

Observers say that while Michael Barr may not be progressives' first choice to be the Fed's top regulator, he has gained their support given the importance of the post and the pressure of looming midterm elections. What his exact policy prescriptions and priorities in the post-Dodd-Frank world will be, however, is unclear.

The Federal Reserve has hired five executives from the stablecoin issuer Circle and at least one employee of Ripple since 2019 as part of its technology-focused recruiting efforts. It plans to do more hiring in the years ahead to aid its work on faster payments and central bank digital currencies.

Interest in digital assets is on the rise following an executive order from the White House and a recent report from the Fed.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently decided to put an official in charge of the rising number of small and midsize national banks that partner with fintechs or have nontraditional business plans. The agency’s goal is to establish a team that understands cutting-edge technologies and establishes consistent oversight policies in response.

The White House says the president will nominate Michael Barr, a Treasury Department veteran and one of the architects of the Dodd-Frank Act, as the central bank's vice chair for supervision.

Banks have supported initiatives aimed at closing the racial equality gap but the industry risks undermining this by fighting new rules to gather demographic data on small-business lending.