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 Home Loan banks aren't doing enough to address the shortage of affordable housing in the U.S., FHFA Director Sandra Thompson says. Some of their members are instead using advances to manage liquidity and perhaps engaging in crypto-related and other activities that put the Deposit Insurance Fund at risk, she says.
February 13
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Two proposals by Democratic state senators would force companies doing business in the Golden State to report greenhouse gas emissions and disclose climate-related financial risks. The banking trade group opposed similar efforts two years ago.
February 13
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The New York City Banking Commission will now require banks seeking access to municipal deposits to provide detailed plans about how they are combatting discrimination. The commission is also implementing a public comment process as part of its process for determining which banks are eligible.
February 10
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As the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rethinks its bank merger framework, the standard metric for determining a bank's deposit concentration in a merger review is increasingly irrelevant, officials say.
February 10
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In a speech on digital assets and decentralized finance, the Federal Reserve Board governor said the underlying technology of the volatile sector has value.
February 10
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Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson said that Federal Home Loan Banks benefit from the implied guarantee of the U.S. government.
February 10
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The Community Bankers Association of Illinois is calling on regulators to issue guidance that would make large financial institutions toughen customer verification and be more cooperative in resolving disputes over falsified checks.
February 9
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As written, new capital standards for U.S. banks fail to account for the additional risk posed by many home loan clients who obtain second mortgages. Fixing the problem will significantly reduce the rule's benefit to banks.
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The only thing we know about the next financial crisis is that it won't look like the last one. But specific changes to bank safety and soundness requirements and clearer regulatory authorities would help us respond.
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In the year of the country's 250th anniversary celebrations, it's worth looking back at the long road the U.S. dollar took to global dominance, and the lessons we can learn from it.
