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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North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry — who's in line to lead the House Financial Services Committee after the GOP won control of the chamber in the midterm elections — has called for the Fed to stay focused on controlling inflation. Democrats, who retained the Senate, have begun to voice concerns that higher borrowing costs will hurt jobs and potentially cause a recession.
November 17
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Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives will help advance financial services firms' priorities, with a wish list that includes curbing ambitious proposals by a top markets regulator and diminishing the clout of a popular U.S. consumer watchdog.
November 17
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The Kentucky Bankers Association is seeking to halt Attorney General Daniel Cameron's investigation into climate commitments made by six large banks. The suit alleges that the AG overstepped his authority by seeking to compel the banks to turn over certain documents and communications.
November 16
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Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters and the panel's top Republican, Rep. Patrick McHenry, pressed bank regulators to support bipartisan stablecoin legislation and other efforts to toughen standards for cryptocurrencies in the aftermath of the FTX collapse.
November 16
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A major hurdle for employees who want to speak out about workplace sexual harassment is poised to be removed — with significant ramifications across Wall Street, which has lagged behind the rest of corporate America in scaling back nondisclosure agreements.
November 16
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A heated panel discussion sponsored by the Federal Housing Finance Agency raised questions about the funding, structure and mission of the Home Loan banks.
November 16
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The Biden administration is considering extending its pause on student loan repayments, now set to resume Jan. 1, in response to legal challenges to its student-debt forgiveness program, according to people familiar with the internal discussions.
November 16
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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.
