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.
- AB - Policy & Regulation
President Biden's announcement that he is reappointing Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve suggests that not much will change regarding supervision, capital requirements and approval of merger applications. But the still-open position for vice chair of supervision could go to a more progressive nominee.
November 22
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The president has selected Jerome Powell to serve a second four-year term as Federal Reserve chair and chosen Gov. Lael Brainard as the next vice chair.
November 22
- AB - Policy & Regulation
After Democrats failed last year to rally support for a federal 36% limit, House and Senate proponents are trying to capitalize on the momentum from state rate caps that recently passed on a bipartisan basis.
November 21
- LIBOR
U.S. legislation designed to protect trillions of dollars of assets from chaos when global regulators phase out the interest-rate benchmark Libor is being held up in the House, over a dispute involving tax-related language, according to lawmakers and congressional aides.
November 19
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Two progressive Democratic senators said they oppose the renomination of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to a second term, joining Elizabeth Warren in urging President Biden to choose someone else.
November 19
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The National Credit Union Administration backed off measures that would have let credit unions sign up members in areas where they have ATMs and online services, but no branches. The move was seen as a partial victory for banks, though the matter could ultimately be decided by Congress.
November 18
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The nomination hearing for Saule Omarova featured sharp questioning from members of both parties, raising further doubts about her chances of getting confirmed. The industry views her as too anti-business to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
November 18
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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.
