Compliance

Although Steven Mnuchin has close ties to Wall Street and was involved in some contentious deals, Democrats face an uphill battle making the case that those connections disqualify him to serve as Treasury secretary.

Several cabinet-level or advisory positions in the Trump administration have gone to executives with ties to Wall Street and for-profit banking, and observers offered a mixed forecast on how that might impact credit unions.

Much of regtech focuses on automating compliance functions, but the human eye is still needed in some cases. Royal Bank of Canada and D+H have developed an assessment tool designed to help employees do their jobs better.

A federal judge heard arguments from ICBA and NCUA on whether to dismiss the banking group's legal challenge to the credit union regulator's changes to the member business lending rule. A decision on the dismissal could come as early as January.

The bulk of NCUA's December board meeting was used to detail the current status of the Corporate System Resolution Program and any potential assessment refunds to be paid to credit unions — though those monies won't show up for several years still.

The Credit Union National Association this week asserted the National Credit Union Administration should wait before instituting a premium to support the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.

In response to a series of cyber bank thefts, Swift has developed new guidance. It's a necessary first step, though banks for now are still left to fend for themselves.

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 and credit union economists. The committee's expectations for interest rates in 2017, however, were more varied.

Roughly 24 hours ahead of a planned rollout of much awaited -- and much needed -- larger-denomination bolivar bills in Venezuela, banks had yet to receive the new tender on Wednesday, nor was it clear whether the banknotes had even arrived in the country.

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

President-elect Trump faces legal questions over his idea to hold remittances ransom to fund a wall in Mexico, but the industry should take the threat seriously.

Of the five banks that failed their living will tests earlier this year and were forced to resubmit plans, only Wells Fargo failed again, resulting in immediate regulatory action that will restrict its growth, including its ability to expand internationally and buy nonbank subsidiaries.

Venezuelans were wearily rushing to deposit bank notes or dump their cash savings entirely on Monday following an announcement by President Nicolas Maduro that he was invalidating the country’s biggest bill because of what he says is an attack on the nation’s liquidity.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency finalized a rule Tuesday that will create a "duty to serve" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help low- and moderate- income consumers, including encouraging a secondary market for manufactured housing loans.

The credit union has assets of just $56,000, and lost more than $2,000 during the first three quarters of 2016.

Federal banking regulators are dismissing claims that they are pressuring banks to cut ties with payday lenders, arguing that the lenders' recent request for a court order against the agencies rests on erroneous speculation and bad legal arguments.

The new chairman of Republic First was famously ousted from Commerce Bancorp because of conflict-of-interest concerns years ago. His new bank uses some Hill-related companies for marketing and other services but says that it has structured the relationship in a way that passes muster with regulators.