Economy

After 10 years of conservatorship, the new year could finally usher in big steps toward housing finance reform.

As more states permit medical or recreational use, and legal uncertainty persists at the federal level, CUs' decision whether to do business with marijuana firms is trickier than ever.

Investors are spooked by banks' exposure to oil and other sectors threatened by a global slowdown as well as by policy uncertainties, but banks argue credit quality is strong and recession fears are exaggerated.

A big splash by Fifth Third, a bid by WSFS to reinvent itself and some bold long-distance expansions highlighted a year where deal activity held steady but premiums rose.

Bankers cry foul over Robinhood's checking and savings accounts; Amazon, Google, Apple and PayPal are at odds with big banks over Fed's role in faster payments; Kraninger scraps plan to rebrand CFPB; and more from this week's most-read stories.

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to examine the outgoing committee chairman's bipartisan GSE reform bill, but lawmakers were already looking ahead.

More banks were approved this year than any since the financial crisis. But challenges with raising capital, and a change in the political landscape, could deter prospective applicants next year.

The process to confirm Mark Calabria as FHFA director could be lengthy, forcing the White House to consider how it will proceed with housing finance reform under Joseph Otting as acting head of the agency.

Hostilities toward the legal U.S. cannabis industry are softening considerably, with signs of further removing cash and digital workarounds from a market that has long been shunned by traditional payment cards.

The White House said that Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting will serve as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency beginning Jan. 6, after Director Mel Watt’s term ends.

Among the most innovative CEOs of his generation, the former Umpqua chief and Pivotus founder is taking some of his best ideas to a new fintech as an adviser.

The federal banking regulators have proposed allowing more directors and management officials to serve at more than one institution in an effort to provide relief to community banks.

The FDIC has approved more new banks this year than in the last four years combined. Here is a look at the class of 2018.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has gotten the ball rolling for financial technology firms trying to operate a national platform, but the FDIC and Federal Reserve should act to remove other policy roadblocks.

An accusation of sexual discrimination plays out in court for BNP Paribas; Jeffries’ top execs chastise Wall Street men over #MeToo paranoia; blockchain startup loses Blythe Masters; and RBS might make history with a female CEO-CFO duo.

The payments processor was among numerous firms earlier this year to withdraw an ILC charter application over questions about its plan.

Banks were reluctant to offer services to an industry that had a hazy legal status. That’s about to change.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell demurs on regulatory relief for largest banks while saying he is “open” to countercyclical buffer.

Though it became official in January in the U.K., most people there don't know what it is, according to a new survey that offers many insights for U.S. banks.

The objectives of a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rule requiring financial institutions to collect “beneficial ownership” details are laudable, but the regulation can be subverted by unscrupulous customers.