Biden Administration

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.