Regulation

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen appeared Tuesday before an uncommonly collegial hearing of the Senate Banking Committee, but the lack of outward drama masked the fact that lawmakers from both parties were using her testimony to lay the groundwork for a broader battle over the future of regulatory reform.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen appeared Tuesday before an uncommonly collegial hearing of the Senate Banking Committee, but the lack of outward drama masked the fact that lawmakers from both parties were using her testimony to lay the groundwork for a broader battle over the future of regulatory reform.

Rather than roll back provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that have strengthened financial stability, policymakers should focus regulatory reform on tailoring rules for community banks.

Rather than just avoiding costly rules, cost-benefit analyses can also validate worthy ones. That is the case with proposals to toughen the leverage ratio.

Steven Mnuchin was confirmed 53-47 as Treasury secretary late Monday after two days of debate in which Democrats questioned the former banker's honesty.

Regional banks don’t pose risks to the financial system that have caused concern among policymakers, executives of 18 banks told top Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress.

Banks have spent years and billions of dollars to comply with post-crisis reforms. But with a new administration and Congress aiming to roll back the regulatory tide, whether those compliance costs go down is an open question.

Financial firms are going on offense in Washington, pressing a policy agenda that would have been unimaginable just a few months ago. Some proposals, like reforming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, have been floated before while others began to gain traction after Republicans swept the November elections. Here's a look at some of the industry's requests.

Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials oppose the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but efforts to beat back CFPB policies might be a longer fight than many in the industry would like.

The Federal Reserve Board should continue to focus on emerging systemic threats and work on exempting community banks from rules clearly aimed at larger institutions, said Fed Gov. Daniel Tarullo, who unexpectedly announced his pending departure Friday.