Policy & Regulation

The online lending industry has turned to the courts, Congress and now federal banking agencies in an effort, thus far fruitless, to blunt the impact of a 2015 appeals court ruling.

Recent remarks from top officials at the FDIC and Fed suggest the agencies' recent impasse over reforming the Community Reinvestment Act may be ending.

Bank technology giants FIS and Fiserv are spending nearly $66 billion between them in just the past few weeks to add a broad swath of payments technology — including a few key nuggets that will help them go toe to toe with fintechs.

Congress granted banks significant reg relief last year, but incoming ICBA Chairman Preston Kennedy says a lighter touch is needed with Bank Secrecy Act rules, loan-loss modeling and call reports.

Policymakers should continue to simplify requirements, so that banks and regulators alike can focus on the most important measures of stability.

Revised legislation would exclude credit unions from Community Reinvestment Act requirements, but could make the National Credit Union Administration the de facto enforcer of how CUs meet the needs of underserved markets.

The federal government's more active role in GDP, payroll and other vital statistics produced by the island could hasten its recovery from Hurricane Maria and lift lending and bank valuations at the same time.

BB&T-SunTrust deal came together with remarkable speed; Citi and Chase take on fintechs at their own game; CECL spells trouble for small banks, consumers; and more from this week’s most-read stories.

PricewaterhouseCoopers settled a lawsuit in which the FDIC accused it of negligence in its role as external auditor for Colonial Bank. But FDIC board member Martin Gruenberg objected because the firm did not accept blame.

Industry lawyers say the agency’s decision could have implications for other bankers looking to change jobs.