Policy & Regulation

DMB Financial, a debt-settlement firm near Boston that operates in 24 states, agreed to pay $5.4 million in restitution to consumers for allegedly charging upfront fees before providing any service, the CFPB said.

Financial institutions said they needed more time to weigh in on issues such as how they use artificial intelligence for fraud prevention and underwriting.

During the pandemic-induced lockdowns, the Federal Reserve loosened a rule requiring banks to cap certain savings withdrawals at six per month. Some banks have since dropped ceilings and associated fees, while others have stood pat.

In letters to regulators and lawmakers, bankers and their trade groups argued that deals like Vystar Credit Union's proposed acquisition of a small Georgia bank could result in less community development lending and declines in federal tax receipts.

Some banks are removing the term “sales” from training materials out of fear regulators will accuse them of unethical, high-pressure tactics. But that’s an overreaction to federal probes of extreme cases — sales are essential to growth.

Binance Holdings Ltd. is under investigation by the Justice Department and IRS, ensnaring the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange in U.S. efforts to root out illicit activity that’s thrived in the red-hot but mostly unregulated market.

Regulators around the world are exploring how to assess banks' exposures to climate change risks. But they'll have to tackle legal, economic and modeling problems that don’t have obvious solutions.

Some worry the Senate’s rejection of the OCC rule hampers efforts to clarify legal standards for banks selling loans to fintechs.

A Federal Reserve proposal that would require banks to give merchants more choices in routing certain debit transactions could be a prelude to a more consequential change: a lower cap on interchange fees for banks with more than $10 billion of assets.

Three Republicans joined Senate Democrats in voting to overturn a rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that makes it easier for national banks to sell loans to nonbanks. A companion resolution has been introduced in the House.