Politics

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said some large regional banks are at risk of becoming too big to fail, and the agency is considering ways to increase the resolvability of post-merger banks.

Increased interest income would boost banks’ lending profitability, but inflation and mounting expenses, along with the specter of potential recession, loom large.

"The Fed has increasingly appeared disinterested in doing its important, clearly defined job and more interested in doing mine," writes Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., a member of the Senate Banking Committee.

Democrats at a hearing on Capitol Hill contended overdraft fees hurt low-income consumers and should be reined in — with Rep. Maxine Waters proposing to make larger banks offer an account without such charges. Yet Republicans said eliminating the fees would drive some consumers toward predatory lenders and away from small banks.

The pilot program, which Small Business Administration head Isabella Casillas Guzman called a key tool for prioritizing more equitable access to capital, is getting a two-year extension along with a boost to its maximum loan size.

In global news this week, Apple blocks Russia's Mir network; N26 gets hit with anti-money-laundering penalties in Italy; Santander brings new B2B payments tech to Brazil; and more.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is accusing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of pressuring Equifax, Experian and Transunion into removing most medical debt from credit reports, a move he says would compromise lenders' ability to gauge risk. Democrats, experts who testified at a hearing Tuesday and the CFPB pushed back.

The nomination of Lisa Cook, an economics professor who is one of President Biden's choices for the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, advanced Tuesday on a party-line procedural vote in the Senate.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it expects credit card companies to increase fees — often around $30 — charged when customer miss a payment. The higher prices are allowed under rules that authorize inflation adjustments.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will potentially be banning business practices, forcing the divestiture of business lines and working with state agencies to revoke licenses, Director Rohit Chopra said Monday. He called out five big banks by name for repeatedly crossing legal lines.

The White House's $5.8 trillion spending proposal to Congress includes more dollars for anti-money-laundering enforcement, Small Business Administration loan guarantee programs and affordable housing financed by community development financial institutions.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has submitted its request for information — which asks whether banks should bear the burden of proof in merger applications and how much input the CFPB should have in approving deals — to the Federal Register.

A push by Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis, one of the crypto industry’s staunchest supporters in Congress, to write a new law for digital assets is getting the support of at least one Democrat.

Banking and credit union regulators are expected to respond to a White House call to root out discrimination in the predominantly white appraisal business. They will likely step up enforcement and data collection, reclaiming authority long ceded to the industry's governing body.

Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown said Thursday he expects a Senate vote next week to confirm President Biden’s Federal Reserve nominees, though the timing may be affected by GOP opposition to Lisa Cook, who would be the first Black woman on the Board of Governors.

Deutsche Bank's wealth management business has stopped accepting new Russian clients living abroad, joining other lenders in reducing business with the country’s rich.

House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters has asked more than 30 trade associations, including banking groups, to describe how their members — company by company — have limited or ended their dealings in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.

In global news this week, Apple may bring its card to the U.K. but faces backlash in the Netherlands; Japan's JCB is launching a travel card in India; banks drop from the European Payments Initiative; and more.

Barclays plans to step up its financing of renewable energy as Russia’s war on Ukraine adds to the urgency of moving away from fossil fuels.

The actions involved are based on findings by an interagency task force first convened last year by Marcia Fudge, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.