Investments

Free investment education and testing for risk tolerance are among the ways financial firms can better reach underserved consumers, former SEC chief Jay Clayton and Operation HOPE’s John Hope Bryant say.

The Treasury Department and U.S. regulators aim to boost demand for assets that tackle climate change, while preventing companies from making claims that could be considered “greenwashing,” or overstating the significance of emissions reductions and sustainability efforts.

The decision is seen as a setback for the banking industry, which had been pushing for an extension, and a win for Democrats, who have argued that a pandemic is no time for banks to be shedding capital.

Democrats want regulators to actively protect the financial system from losses tied to extreme weather events, while Republicans say climate policy is "beyond the scope" of their mission.

Big banks led the push to offer multibillion-dollar bonds that fund affordable housing, education and nonprofits that serve needy communities. But Truist's recent $1.25 billion bond is a sign that regionals want to attract progressive institutional investors — and burnish their images.

Slow settlement on traditional rails can cause dangerous delays in moving funds, says AppBrilliance's C. Eric Smith.

The bank also committed to finance $500 billion in sustainable businesses and projects by 2030.

Hector Negroni, a leader in pushing the needle in municipal finance, talks policy, infrastructure, ESG and a growing global audience for investing in state and local governments.

The industry wants regulators to extend a temporary measure making it easier to satisfy the supplementary leverage ratio. But Democrats’ control of the White House and Congress has given a bigger platform to those who say banks have had enough relief.

The bank’s new holding company, Amalgamated Financial Group, is the first publicly traded financial services company to become a public benefit corporation. It says the legal designation will help officers and directors balance the interests of shareholders and the public.