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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Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said at an American Bankers Association summit that if Republicans win majority control of the House in the upcoming congressional elections, they would “unleash the free market” by pursuing innovation-friendly policies.
March 8
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The Biden administration's decision to bar oil and gas imports from Russia could increase domestic production and energy lending yet impede overall growth and demand for credit.
March 8
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As Visa and Mastercard move swiftly to limit their business in Russia, their nascent rivals face a challenge to fill the gap.
March 8
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U.S. payment giants like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal — along with smaller companies like Paysera in Lithuania — have blocked transactions or pulled out of Russia and Belarus in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
March 7
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President Biden is set to sign an executive order this week that will outline the U.S. government’s strategy for cryptocurrencies, according to several people familiar with the administration’s plans.
March 7
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Sberbank said it’s looking at the possibility of issuing cards using the Russian payments system Mir and China’s UnionPay after Visa and Mastercard suspended operations following the invasion of Ukraine.
March 7
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U.S. credit unions that serve Ukrainian immigrants are coordinating efforts to provide aid in Ukraine while bracing for cyberattacks at home.
March 7
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Efforts by individual states to rewrite existing rules governing interstate bank lending risk throwing the entire system into chaos. Only Congress has the ability to reestablish a workable set of national rules.
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The new law's reciprocal and custodial deposit provisions recognize what the evidence has shown for two decades. They should spur, not substitute for, the broader work of protecting America's depositors.
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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.
