Policy & Regulation

Student loan borrowers face breakdowns and delays in applying for repayment plans that feature loan forgiveness or interest subsidies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a report released Monday.

Such a charter comes with a bevy of legal and policy questions to resolve, including whether parent companies of firms that obtain a fintech charter would have to subject themselves to oversight by the Federal Reserve Board. State regulators, meanwhile, fear a new charter could erode their ability to regulate firms within their jurisdictions.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council reiterated Monday that its cybersecurity assessment tool is voluntary, despite bankers' fears that not using it could put them in hot water with their examiners.

As a result of the SEC's latest reforms, today's money-market funds are very different products than their precrisis predecessors. Calls for additional layers of burdensome regulation over this industry are unwarranted.

Dorothy Savarese, the head of Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank in Massachusetts, seeks a financial system where the rules encourage community banks and big banks to do the things that they are best at.

WASHINGTON — Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White should be demoted as head of the agency because of her lack of support for a rule that would require companies to publicly disclose their political spending, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Friday.

In a sit-down interview, Amy Friend, the OCC's chief counsel, details how the agency would evaluate firms for a possible fintech charter, whether the charter would favor particular kinds of companies and what happens next in the process.

Warren's voice is powerful in criticizing big banks, but she could play a more active role in providing relief to community banks to help boost job creation.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

WASHINGTON — The government should encourage the development of the fintech sector, but should not grant a safe harbor for such firms, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Thursday.