Policymaking

Financial firms have mostly shrugged off the government's budget woes, but Washington's gridlock might pose a bigger risk than they think.

Three nominees for financial regulatory posts, including the administration's choice to run the FDIC, will face questions by the Senate Banking Committee.

The agency’s acting director has recruited several conservative staff members who will likely prove instrumental in charting its future.

Jonathan Dever, a Republican Ohio state representative and defense lawyer, is being touted as a top candidate to lead the bureau, according to multiple insiders.

Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting blasted a letter from Senate Democrats criticizing his agency for not implementing recommendations on supervision in the wake of the Wells Fargo scandal.

Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has requested no funding from the Federal Reserve in the second quarter and instead will use reserves to fund the agency.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faces significant obstacles in reopening the payday lending rule including likely legal challenges and a lengthy compliance process with the Administrative Procedure Act.

Acting CFPB director Mick Mulvaney issued "a call for evidence" Wednesday seeking comment on all of the consumer agency's functions, including enforcement, supervision, rulemaking, market monitoring and education activities.

Of the more than 30 GOP lawmakers due to retire at yearend — a historically significant level of departures for a single election — several are important to banking policy.

Criticism of payday lenders is deserved and Congress should not throw out the CFPB's short-term lending measure.

GOP Rep. Ed Royce of California said this week that he will leave Congress at the end of the year, removing his name from the list of contenders to lead the Financial Services Committee next year.

J. Mark McWatters of the National Credit Union Administration will have no favorites among community financial institutions.

Companies like Visa and Mastercard make decisions about security in secrecy, without enough input from banks and merchants.

Criticism of payday lenders is deserved and Congress should not throw out the CFPB's short-term lending measure.

Pimco's Richard Clarida is said to be out of the running for the nomination. Other names linked to the position have been former Fed Gov. Lawrence Lindsey and Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz SE, Pimco’s parent company.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaints dropped last year for most of the big banks, including Wells Fargo, though they rose sharply at Capital One.

Kirsten Sutton Mork, the House Financial Services Committee's staff director, will become chief of staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The banking industry braced for big changes with the election of President Trump, but the financial reform law has proven its staying power over the past year.

More than 100 pending Trump administration nominees, including Fed Chair-designate Jerome Powell, must update their financial disclosures and have the White House resubmit their names for consideration by the Senate.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau featured in three of our most read articles of last year, while two others were about the disruptor Ripple. Other highlights included our annual Women in Banking package, the aftermath of the Equifax data breach and news of Amazon's possible banking plans.