Banking Politics & Policy News
American Banker's Politics & Policy coverage delivers news and analysis on how legislative action, federal agency rulemaking, regulatory politics, and public policy debates shape banking strategy, risk, competition, and compliance. Coverage explores congressional priorities, executive branch initiatives, regulatory agency actions, and the political forces that shape and impact the operating environment for financial institutions, payments companies, fintechs and distributed finance companies.
Bank leaders must navigate a dynamic policy environment where congressional action, regulatory priorities, and political forces influence capital standards, supervisory expectations, digital asset frameworks, deposit insurance, consumer rules, and competitive dynamics.
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Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said in a speech Tuesday that banks might need to establish margin to counteract counterparty risks presented by private funds.
February 27
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The lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the deal would further anti-consumer bank consolidation, but also criticized the OCC's proposed changes to the merger process, asking that they be strengthened.
February 26
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The Narrow Bank — a pass-through bank that first applied for a Federal Reserve master account in 2017 — is appealing an "ill-founded" December decision by the Federal Reserve to deny its application for a master account.
February 26
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Some analysts said that the Capital One-Discover deal would undercut the reasoning behind the Credit Card Competition Act — authored by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. — which aims to spur competition for Visa and Mastercard.
February 21
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The blockbuster merger proposal will be reviewed at a time when the Biden administration is expressing skepticism about consolidation. Its analysis will have to account for markets dominated by both big banks and the likes of Visa and Mastercard.
February 20
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Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts asked Early Warning Services, which operates the payment platform Zelle, to clarify its reimbursement policy around impostor scams.
February 16
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Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., will propose legislation on Friday that would curtail the Federal Reserve's ability to slow down the bank merger process by mandating that the central bank must approve or deny applications within 90 days of receiving them.
February 16
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As stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies enter the mainstream, lawmakers in Illinois have imposed a new transaction tax on digital assets. It will raise costs for everyday consumers and drive away businesses.
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Yes, banks' capital burden will decline, leaving more potential funds available for lending. But the big question is which banks will find a way to deploy those funds to generate meaningful returns.
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Restrictions that limit access to private market investments are harmful to ordinary investors, who are denied better returns. They also seal off a large potential source of funding for long-term infrastructure investments.
