Regulation

The National Credit Union Administration rule expanding member business lending introduces new risks and lacks legal basis.

WASHINGTON — Senate lawmakers are putting pressure on the Treasury Department's financial crimes unit to clarify to banks that businesses hired by marijuana growers and dispensers should not be treated like pot firms themselves.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she is advising the incoming Trump administration not to roll back the improvements in bank safety and soundness enshrined in Dodd-Frank, but acknowledged that recent scandals “certainly suggest there is room for improvement” when it comes to bank culture.

The industry finally sees a bit of an opening in its effort to roll back the 2010 law that capped fees on debit card transactions. But opposition from the retail sector will be fierce.

The Federal Open Market Committee agreed unanimously Wednesday to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, a move that was widely anticipated by markets. The committee's expectations for interest rates in 2017, however, were more varied.

The mortgage interest deduction has been a pillar of U.S. housing policy for more than a century, but Congress appears ready to consider significant changes to it that some industry players worry could effectively render it moot.

A legislative proposal would expand Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's use of specially-created debt securities to share their risk with private investors, but such risk transfer deals are not a replacement for core capital.

A public interest law firm filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for failing to produce documents that showed how the agency decided to ban mandatory arbitration clauses.

Banks should embrace artificial intelligence so that they can more easily navigate policy shifts that will affect their compliance resources and processes.

After Wells Fargo became the first U.S. bank ever sanctioned over its resolution plan, observers are wondering what it means for the future of the institution and the living will process.