Law and regulation

A week after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency created a new federal charter for fintech firms, California's financial regulator is calling on other states to work together in making their licensing system more palatable to companies.

WASHINGTON – Gary Cohn, president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs, has been offered the job of director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration, several news outlets reported Friday.

As regulators open the door to fintech firms applying for bank charters, what has already been a long journey to this point is only going to get more intense.

Despite gains for the legalization effort in the November election, the disconnect between federal and state law preserves uncertainty for banks catering to pot businesses.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan duo of House lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would push Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to engage in more credit risk-sharing transactions.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board is slated to vote next week on a final rule meant to help regulators recapitalize a major U.S. bank if it should run aground, one of the last significant capital regulations that the agencies have yet to complete.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency faces a challenging task as it attempts to add financial inclusion requirements to its pending fintech charter without following the exact blueprint of the Community Reinvestment Act.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Department of Justice, could play a key role in the fate of the agency.

WASHINGTON — Development on the Common Securitization Platform has reached a point where Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be able to issue a uniform mortgage-backed security sometime in 2018, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Thursday.

The bank must make fundamental changes to avoid becoming the ultimate scapegoat for grievances about Wall Street's biggest banks.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is expected to downgrade Wells Fargo's Community Reinvestment Act rating in January to "needs to improve," from "outstanding," according to a story by Reuters, citing unnamed sources.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday filed consent orders against three reverse mortgage companies, accusing them of deceptive advertising and misrepresentations.

Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, on Wednesday was named chairman of the Business Roundtable, further cementing himself as a key intermediary between the incoming Trump administration and the business community.

Banking and credit union trade groups are urging Congress to consider repealing any upcoming Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules governing arbitration, payday lending, debt collection and prepaid cards by using its authority under the Congressional Review Act.

The American Bankers Association has filed a lawsuit against the National Credit Union Administration, arguing that the regulator's new field-of-membership rule go too far.

The Dodd-Frank Act allows the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to litigate its own cases independently of the Department of Justice — except before the Supreme Court. If the landmark PHH v. CFPB case makes it that far, how will a Trump Department of Justice respond?

A Republican president and GOP-controlled Congress have the opportunity to disentangle the current regulatory web that leads to overlapping jurisdiction and duplicative rules.

JPMorgan Chase, HSBC Holdings and Credit Agricole were fined a total of 485.5 million euros ($521 million) for rigging the Euribor benchmark as European Union antitrust regulators wrapped up a five-year investigation into the scandal.

Cross River Bank, which processes payments and funds loans for fintech startups, says that if such firms got a federal charter, it could help them another way: teaching them compliance.