Policy & Regulation

Regulators and the Biden administration are considering how to respond to the sharp growth in digital assets pegged to fiat currency. Their options include establishing rules like those for bank deposits and having the Federal Reserve issue a digital dollar that competes with private-sector stablecoins.

The U.S.’s measured approach will allow it to learn from other countries that are pioneering their own cryptocurrencies, according to executives from IBM, R3 and Public Mint.

The Federal Reserve has been circumspect about whether it will issue its own digital currency. Observers are looking to an upcoming report by the central bank for clarity about its intentions and how a digital dollar would work with private stablecoins.

Community banks have played and will continue to play a key role in supporting local economies across the country. Join us in a lively conversation with Dennis E. Nixon, President & CEO of International Bank of Commerce (Laredo, Texas) & Chairman, International Bancshares Corporation and Eddie Aldrete, Senior Vice President at International Bank of Commerce as we discuss: (1) the need for bankers and the business community to become involved in political issues. From minimum wage and issues that affect small businesses to regulatory issues that directly affect the banking industry, banking and business leaders need to be thought leaders in the public conversation and (2) how bankers can play a pivotal advocacy role in the free trade process.

The regional Fed bank said it was making the move “due to the recently elevated COVID-19 health risk level in Teton County, Wyoming.”

Critics of consolidation say the Federal Reserve and other agencies are too quick to greenlight bank deals. But the truth is banks face many hurdles to merger approval, and they don’t bother to apply — or take a hint and withdraw their applications — if they can’t clear them all.

The Biden administration will soon face tough decisions on whether to renominate Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair and whom to select for vice chair of supervision and other posts.

The agency signaled during the Trump administration that it would approve more industrial loan companies following an extended freeze in new charters due to policy disputes. But the thaw will likely prove temporary now that the board's makeup has changed.

The U.S. and its neighbor to the north are each developing frameworks to give consumers control over financial data and allow companies to transfer account information. A recently issued Canadian government report could influence efforts in both countries, analysts say.

The Federal Reserve told a judge not to scrap Libor as requested by consumers in a lawsuit because it would pose a risk to financial stability and undermine years of global planning for a transition to a new benchmark for borrowing rates.