Finance, investment and tax-related legislation

Several financial tech companies that applied to become national banks are seeking exemptions from many provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act. A consumer advocacy group and the American Bankers Association say the OCC mustn't allow this.

After three years of savings, top U.S. banks could face an increased tax bill of as much as $11 billion a year if President-elect Joe Biden moves forward with corporate rate hikes he campaigned on.

The next administration must halt the practice of allowing new entrants into the banking system to forgo a full Community Reinvestment Act exam.

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.

Brian Brooks, the acting comptroller of the currency, used a selective (and dubious) interpretation of the Dodd-Frank Act to argue for more say on when banks can preempt state law.

Speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Center for American Progress, Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard said the agency is also seeking feedback on how the Community Reinvestment Act could be used to encourage lenders to invest in climate resiliency.

It includes simpler Paycheck Protection Program forgiveness and a consistent approach from federal regulators to reforming the Community Reinvestment Act, says Bank of America's Christine Channels, who chairs the Consumer Bankers Association's board.

The Maryland Democrat served five terms in the U.S. Senate, a 30-year tenure in which he was chairman of the Senate Banking Committee when it responded to a rash of accounting scandals. He didn’t seek a sixth term and retired on Jan. 3, 2007.

People with scores below 500 are often in communities that suffer the most from economic hardship and violence. Banks and regulators can do more to qualify them for financing, ultimately creating healthier local economies.

The latest bipartisan plan to accelerate the economic recovery would appropriate roughly $300 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, but the legislative package still faces long odds in the divided Congress.