Policy & Regulation

Several consumer advocacy organizations have urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to deny the online lender's application for a national bank charter, citing concerns about its lending and debt-collection practices.

An impasse over pandemic relief checks for Americans is holding up an override of President Trump's veto of a bill shifting beneficial-owner requirements from banks to their commercial clients.

The National Credit Union Administration juggled several challenges this year beyond the pandemic recession, including an inspector general's report about alleged misconduct by two former employees and criticism that board members had lost their old spirit of comity.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin approved the extension of the Main Street Lending Program, which offers loans to midsize companies affected by the pandemic, to Jan. 8.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for more disruption in the new year with a Democratic administration likely to reverse several GOP-backed policies. More aggressive relief for mortgage borrowers, a rollback of Trump-era rulemakings and yet another realignment of CFPB offices will all be on the table.

A Biden-appointed comptroller could refocus resources and attention to these issues and put less effort into fighting the ongoing fintech charter battle.

The Federal Reserve is credited with containing damage to the financial system from the coronavirus pandemic, but experts say the limits of the central bank’s power to prop up the economy will likely become more apparent in the new year.

Brian Brooks, the acting comptroller of the currency, used a selective (and dubious) interpretation of the Dodd-Frank Act to argue for more say on when banks can preempt state law.

The measure, just the second of its kind the nation, mandates that fintechs, factoring firms and other nonbank small-business lenders clearly explain the terms and conditions to borrowers.

In the waning days of the Trump administration, the agency issued a new legal theory of its power to let national banks evade state consumer protection laws. But some state attorneys general and consumer groups charge the federal regulator is attempting to sidestep restrictions imposed by Dodd-Frank.