Policy & Regulation

But bank will benefit long-term from tax reform; judge says accounting firm failed to detect mortgage fraud that did in Colonial Bank.

Over the past year, the focus of several banking policymakers has been how much the regulatory pendulum might swing back toward the industry’s liking. That theme will likely continue in 2018.

Oriental Bank in San Juan was ordered to pay just over $153,000 for failing to notify borrowers that they were required to purchase flood insurance. The fine was one of several November enforcement actions made public Friday by the FDIC.

In his current position as chair of the National Credit Union Administration, J. Mark McWatters has publicly advocated for cutting back the CFPB’s oversight of the credit union industry.

A regulatory relief package is likely to come out of the Senate in the new year, and lawmakers could follow it up with a housing finance reform push. But the midterm elections could cause some reform initiatives to grind to a halt.

Credit card debt hit $807 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016, with consumer balances on average exceeding $4,800, according to a report released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The GSEs are on their way to paying back the money they owed the government under the original bailout deal made at the height of the financial crisis, making 2018 an opportune time for an overhaul of the housing finance market.

Executives from across the credit union movement offered a largely positive take on the possible appointment of NCUA Chairman J. Mark McWatters to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

From the identity of bankers in the 21st century to the regulatory turmoil in Washington to the huge impact of technology on the industry, readers expressed an array of strong opinions about what happened in 2017.

J. Mark McWatters, chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, is said to be in contention to take over as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.