Politics

The consumer bureau is asking for comment on whether the rule implementing the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act is meeting its stated goals of detecting discrimination in mortgage lending.

Graham Steele, a strong proponent of safeguarding the financial system against climate risks, was approved by a 53-42 vote as assistant secretary for financial institutions at the Treasury Department.

Advocates negotiating with the Minneapolis bank also want commitments for mortgage assistance and payouts to financial nonprofits. The pressure for Federal Reserve hearings coincides with Biden administration calls for more scrutiny of big bank mergers.

GOP opposition and a packed Senate agenda have delayed the vote on Julia Gordon as head of the Federal Housing Administration. But industry representatives say that with FHA delinquency rates still elevated and loan forbearance plans expiring, there's an urgency for Congress to confirm her by year-end.

In his new book, “Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World’s Economy,” the historian Adam Tooze argues that the Federal Reserve's interventions preserved a flawed economic status quo. But it still isn't clear what the central bank could have done differently.

Saule Omarova is scheduled to appear before the Banking Committee as progressives cheer her potential appointment to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and critics describe her views as too radical. Her confirmation would rely on the support of every Democrat in the chamber.

In a letter to the agency’s new director, top Senate Democrats recommended policy steps intended to limit mistakes in consumers’ credit files that they said “can ruin lives.”

The OCC is expected by year-end to issue high-level guidance for banks on assessing how they contribute to climate change and how it impacts them. The agency and other regulators may next consider further actions, such as giving Community Reinvestment Act credit for financing environment-friendly projects and even more rigorous stress tests, analysts say.

The Federal Reserve is mulling changes to a key capital measure for big banks, rulings on several merger applications and other actions. How it ultimately decides those matters will depend largely on whom President Biden appoints as head of the central bank and to other leadership positions.

Citigroup says it’s prepared to restart its public-finance business in Texas after halting the operations in the wake of a new Republican law in the state that sought to bar it and other banks from such work as punishment for restrictive gun policies.

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard was interviewed for the top job at the U.S. central bank when she visited the White House last week, according to people familiar with the discussions. She and Fed Chair Jerome Powell are the only people who have publicly surfaced as being in the running for the post.

Directors can urge executives to move more quickly in gauging their institutions’ vulnerability to extreme weather events, said acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu. He offered a list of five questions every board member should ask senior leaders about their progress.

Randal Quarles, who oversaw an easing of post-financial crisis rules as the Federal Reserve’s vice chair of supervision, announced he will resign at the end of this year. His departure will leave President Biden with another open seat to fill on the central bank’s board.

Under federal law, individuals with criminal records must receive government approval to work at a bank. Leeway has been granted over the years, but now the industry plans to lobby Congress to eliminate major hiring hurdles.

Fearing government intrusion, financial institutions’ own clients rallied against the Biden administration plan for their account information to be shared with the IRS. Their involvement added weight to the industry’s opposition.

A new proposal to allow the Small Business Administration to offer credit directly would pull customers away from community lenders, writes the head of a credit union trade group.

Senior congressional Democrats are concerned that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network — an arm of the Treasury Department — is dragging its feet on a rulemaking to require corporations to report their beneficial owners.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell defended the central bank’s work to examine the effects of a warming planet on the financial system, but said decisions such as whether banks should lend to fossil fuel companies are best left to “elected representatives.”

Hunt, who joined the CBA in 2009, has been a vocal critic of the federal student loan program and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s leadership structure. He plans to leave the trade group next summer.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu previewed but provided little detail about the “high-level … supervisory expectations” for large institutions. His statement was one of several by regulators to coincide with an international climate change summit.