Regulation

While some legislatures have extended provisions temporarily allowing online notaries, other lawmakers are pushing for those rules to be made permanent.

Now that Democrats have won control of the Senate following the Georgia runoffs, experts say tax increases, progressive regulators and stricter congressional oversight await. Still, there could be some positives for banks, too.

Congress acted first when it freed financial firms from having to disclose the beneficial owners of commercial clients. Now it's time for regulators to further ease anti-money-laundering reporting requirements by freeing them from filing duplicative or unnecessary suspicious activity reports.

A panel appointed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Congress should consider authorizing the bureau — and not the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — to issue federal charters to fintech companies.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency terminated a 2015 consent order that required the bank to improve its controls for combating money laundering.

The panel unanimously approved the measure by a notation vote, its second such move in weeks, and the proposal will now be subject to a comment period.

With the new Congress sworn in, trade associations are already pushing their legislative wish lists, including more regulatory oversight of fintechs and protecting the industry's tax exemption.

The Georgia runoffs and resulting balance of power in Congress will help determine which bills on bankers’ wish list gain traction. But regardless, existing coronavirus relief such as the Paycheck Protection Program and a push for more economic aid will remain top of mind for lawmakers and the industry.

The next administration must halt the practice of allowing new entrants into the banking system to forgo a full Community Reinvestment Act exam.

The National Credit Union Administration may get a new leader, several institutions could seek to expand their fields of membership, and a pot banking fight may reemerge.