Policy & Regulation

In this edition of the American Banker news quiz, test yourself on topics such as Visa and Mastercard's shift away from relying on interchange, the Federal Reserve's efforts for balance sheet reduction, which financial services sector consumers trust the most and more.

Numisma, a Connecticut-chartered uninsured bank, was granted a Federal Reserve master account last week — the first bank with a novel charter to do so since the Fed issued its master account guidelines in 2022. Whether others can do the same is an open question.

A former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau senior counsel argues that the agency needs to renew its focus on institution-building, in order to create a stable foundation on which the financial services industry, as well as its own employees, can rely.

The announcement comes after weeks of criticism from the bureau's director over fees including title insurance and credit scores.

Shan Hanes, who led Heartland Tri-State Bank in Kansas until it failed last year, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement by a bank officer. He now faces up to 30 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 8.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Quarterly Banking Profile for Q1 showed that banks' net income margins got a boost, but FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg said concerns around inflation, interest rate volatility and geopolitical uncertainty could mean tougher quarters ahead.

Beth Hammack, who stepped down as the bank's co-head of global finance earlier this year, will take the helm as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland later this summer following the retirement of longtime President Loretta Mester.

New York Community Bank's acquisition of the failed Signature Bank helped with its liquidity. But there were other considerations that decisionmakers overlooked in allowing the transaction to take place.

There were significant red flags that regulators overlooked when allowing New York Community Bank to acquire Signature Bank. Those include the fact that the company was still integrating the Flagstar Bank transaction.

Numisma Bank, a de novo bank backed by former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles, is the first bank without deposit insurance to be granted conditional approval under the Fed's new master account application framework.