Biden Administration

Michael Barr helped write the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act while serving under Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

The administration faces a slew of immediate financial policy tasks, such as passing a new round of small-business aid, charting a course for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and filling vacant agency leadership posts.

After a pivotal Supreme Court ruling last year, the Trump administration’s handpicked leader of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was widely expected to leave voluntarily or be fired by the new president.

The 46th president's agenda for financial regulation is already moving ahead, based on the people he's chosen to put in key roles.

The 46th president's agenda for financial regulation is already moving ahead, based on the people he's chosen to put in key roles.

Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen told senators that as Treasury secretary she would create a “hub” to examine the effects of a changing climate on financial institutions and create a database of companies' true owners as required by a recent anti-money-laundering bill.

The odds are better now that Congress will pass a bill to help financial institutions serve cannabis businesses, but the question of the legislative path forward has grown murkier.

The nominees, strongly backed by progressive Democrats to lead two key Wall Street watchdogs, signal that the Biden administration is planning tough oversight after four years of light-touch policies under appointees of President Trump.

Issued in the final days of the Trump administration, the regulation has united banks, gun-control advocates and environmentalists in opposition. It could be blocked by Congress or a comptroller chosen by the new president.

A Democratic majority in Washington may help advance a number of key legislative issues for the industry, such as passage of a national data security standard. However, it could also lead to a renewed focus on consumer protection laws.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said elevating affordable housing issues, examining the financial system through a climate and racial justice "lens" and holding banks accountable for their impact on consumers will be among his priorities.

The agency that supervises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has pushed for revising an agreement with the Treasury Department allowing the mortgage giants to retain their profits. A deal could be out of reach once Joe Biden takes office.

New guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows how companies that offer workers early access to their wages can avoid being regulated as lenders. But the incoming Biden administration could add new complications.

President-elect Joe Biden picked California official Isabel Casillas Guzman to lead the Small Business Administration, according to people familiar with the decision.

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio signaled a change in direction for the Banking Committee under Democratic control, on the same day he called for President Trump's ouster after the U.S. Capitol riot.

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.

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.

Bank regulators traditionally steer clear of more divisive debates in a polarized Washington. But some observers worry acting Comptroller Brian Brooks has gone too far by wading into issues such as public health orders and banks' decisions to curtail services to the gun and fossil fuel industries.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for more disruption in the new year with a Democratic administration likely to reverse several GOP-backed policies. More aggressive relief for mortgage borrowers, a rollback of Trump-era rulemakings and yet another realignment of CFPB offices will all be on the table.

The Federal Reserve is credited with containing damage to the financial system from the coronavirus pandemic, but experts say the limits of the central bank’s power to prop up the economy will likely become more apparent in the new year.