The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued an interim final rule Friday to clarify banks' leeway to charge interchange fees, explicitly blocking the applicability of a law passed in Illinois that would ban charging interchange fees on taxes and tips that goes into effect in July.

Fintech firm IntraFi's most recent quarterly survey of bank executives showed rising pessimism among bankers related to "instability in Washington," as well as growing concerns about technology-enabled fraud.

The deposit insurance reform bill would give credit unions an on-ramp to competing for commercial accounts. A better alternative would be to reactivate the Transaction Account Guarantee program as needed.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is poised to finalize a contentious rule mandating the collection of demographic data on small-business borrowers, with the aim of ensuring equal access to credit for women and minority owners.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a social media post Friday morning that the Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, clearing a path for Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Powell's replacement.

A proposed update to Basel III capital rules from federal banking regulators does not specifically include mortgage insurance as a factor in determining the risk weight for a mortgage loan held on a bank's balance sheet. Industry experts say it should.

The Justice Department recategorized state and federally approved cannabis products from Schedule I to Schedule III, a move that falls short of full legalization but could ignite renewed interest from banks and credit unions in servicing state-legal cannabis businesses.