Economy

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said Friday that the economic outlook is uncertain and that he was adopting a cautious approach to gauging whether slowing growth and a softening labor market outweigh inflation pressures from tariffs.

The first government shutdown since 2019 will slow flood insurance originations and new Small Business Administration loans, though self-funded banking regulators will continue operating as usual.

The Office of Management and Budget has prevented billions of dollars from flowing to community development financial institutions, preventing those funds from supporting housing development.

The CDFI Fund is updating definitions of eligible activity to be considered for the funds, including removing climate-focused financing and references to race and ethnicity.

The Florida community bank, which raised $46 million earlier this summer, is moving ahead with its efforts to expand its national solar and renewable energy line of business.

The American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee expects the economy to grow, albeit at a slower pace than it previously anticipated. The group pointed to stubbornly high inflation and a weakening job market.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received pointed pushback from banks in their public comments on a proposed rule that would slash the number of nonbanks being supervised in four key markets.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephan Miran floated the idea of conducting monetary policy with an eye toward the neutral rate and suggested that the president's immigration and fiscal policies will exert downward pressure on inflation.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto G. Musalem would not directly say whether central bank independence is under threat, instead highlighting that the topic has received more attention.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there was a "high degree of unity" among committee members during this week's Federal Open Market Committee vote. Out of 12 FOMC members, 11 voted for a 25 basis point cut.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower interest rates, but questions about how big of a cut and the trajectory for future cuts remain uncertain — and the White House's power struggle with the central bank is a complicating factor.

Market watchers expect the Federal Open Market Committee to announce a 25 basis point rate cut today, but are also watching for signals of more cuts to come and how many members push for a larger 50 basis point cut.

A bill on reciprocal deposits passed the committee unanimously, while another measure on custodial deposits passed by a wide, bipartisan margin.

The bank is selling a bundle of products that enable businesses to store global currencies inside the U.S. in FDIC-insured accounts, lowering foreign exchange risk and reliance on third parties.

Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August, up from 0.2% in July, as weak job growth and lingering tariff uncertainty reinforce expectations for a September Fed rate cut.

Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, may have violated federal privacy laws by releasing personal information on mortgages taken out by Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook — actions that served as a basis for President Trump's efforts to remove her from office late last month.

The CEOs of Pinnacle Financial Partners and Synovus Financial — two banks that recently announced a deal to join forces — say they've ironed out all the critical sticking points that bedeviled previous mergers of equals.

A cohort of U.K.-based fintech founders are fundraising to launch a digital bank for high net worth individuals, known internally as "Project Arnaud."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 22,000 jobs in August, raising the unemployment rate to 4.3% and providing additional cover for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates in September.