Policy & Regulation

WASHINGTON -- A federal court in California has accepted a controversial request from the IRS to obtain the records of possibly millions of users of the bitcoin exchange Coinbase.

Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin's plan to remove Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control could mean increased competition for lenders' loans. But it could also prompt a rise in mortgage rates.

Even before taking office, Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin has said he wants to return Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private sector, a radically different vision of housing finance reform than that pushed by other Republicans.

President-elect Donald Trump recognizes that full repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act is unlikely, though he supports a House effort to make significant changes, according to a former banker who was on the shortlist to be Treasury secretary.

Some regulators have begun to acknowledge that it's time to rethink the regulatory system put in place in the wake of the financial crisis, while others are raising warnings about weakening safeguards.

President-elect Donald Trump recognizes that full repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act is unlikely, though he supports a House effort to make significant changes, according to a former banker who was on the shortlist to be Treasury secretary.

Consumers' providing bank credentials to third-party services is akin to handing over their house keys. To mitigate screen-scraping risks, banks and fintech companies must first address issues related to security, transparency and control.

Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin wasted no time Wednesday joining one of the thorniest debates in the financial services arena, saying the Trump administration would seek to end government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Post-crisis regulations were not only costly but may have undermined executive accountability by turning CEOs into compliance managers instead of drivers of business decisions.

With access to financial transaction data under threat by hurdles imposed by certain financial institutions, it should be up to consumers to decide how their data is used to improve their financial well-being,