Policy & Regulation

Business continuity plans should be used constantly, not just when the crisis is at its peak, says the New York Fed’s head of financial services.

The payments company is buying Finicity, which powers platforms for Rocket Mortgage and others; the small N.J.-based lender to fintechs is the fourth largest PPP provider.

The pandemic will accelerate the drive toward a supervision process in which both regulators and banks will need the digital tools that enable sophisticated remote exams. Expect a heightened focus, too, on customers' financial health.

A new CFPB rule will expedite the forbearance and loss-mitigation process for consumers suffering financial hardship from the pandemic.

Three banking trade associations told the FDIC that Rakuten Bank America, even after revisions to its earlier application to the agency, would still violate the separation of banking and commerce as well as present consumer privacy concerns.

The Trump administration is accelerating its restrictions on immigration, including a ban on skilled workers that will make it harder for fintechs to hire people from outside the U.S.

Participation in the Main Street Lending Program for midsize companies is partly about public service, but the core business rationale is building "a banking relationship that continues on for some time," the Boston Fed chief says.

Former Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig says making online lenders, credit unions and other nonbanks comply with the Community Reinvestment Act would be a powerful tool in addressing racial and economic injustices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to change the definition of what constitutes a qualified mortgage from a 43% debt-to-income limit to a price-based threshold, and further extend a temporary exemption given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will use year-end 2019 asset totals in its calculating its next assessment, saying national banks "should not be penalized" for adding emergency loans to their books during the pandemic.