Political Risk

Lawmakers from both parties defended regional Federal Reserve banks against potential consolidation, arguing local economic perspectives are essential to ensure monetary policy remains sound.

Banking Committee Democrats warned that the Trump administration's failure to nominate Democrats to vacancies at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Securities and Exchange Commission and National Credit Union Administration threatens the bipartisan structure Congress established for financial regulators.

Independent Community Bankers of America is launching a new campaign comparing community banks with crypto companies, and highlights potential harm that the latter could pose to Main Street.

House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, R-Ark., said he is optimistic that his Senate counterparts will develop compromise language for a crypto market structure bill that President Donald Trump will sign, though some details may be left to regulators to iron out.

Mortgage industry participants say Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte's new role as acting director of national intelligence could imperil progress on a potential initial public offering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The heads of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Vice Chair of Supervision at the Federal Reserve are slated to appear before the House Financial Services Committee Thursday morning.

The Federal Reserve's former top regulator said recent efforts to reform regulation and supervision have boosted executive compensation and share buybacks, not the broader economy.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell's decision to remain on the board he once led combined with a lack of explicit rules governing Fed governance could lead to a power struggle that hasn't been seen in a generation.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte won the White House's favor by acting as an attack dog for the administration, using his agency's data to target President Trump's political enemies with fraud allegations, though those efforts have not withstood judicial scrutiny.

Lawmakers early on Monday voted to push the effective date of the law, which would ban interchange fees on the tax and tip portions of transactions, to July 1, 2027, marking the second delay as merchants and banks continue to battle in court.