Politics

Some policymakers have been calling for a temporary halt to large bank deals while the criteria for approvals are reevaluated. Yet Congress was clear about its intention to stop regulators from holding up bank mergers, argues the head of a trade group for large financial services companies.

After Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Jelena McWilliams’ resignation, a Democrat on the board will temporarily run the agency. But it's still unclear who will call the shots over the long run and how policymaking will be affected by the FDIC's leftward shift.

Democrats largely left the financial sector alone last year. But they are attempting to resurrect a bank tax-reporting plan to help pay for President Biden’s social policy package while keeping a close eye on cryptocurrency and how regulators review mergers.

The Trump-appointed head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Jelena McWilliams, said she plans to leave the agency in early February. The announcement comes weeks after Democratic appointees making up a majority of the board had threatened her leadership by acting on policy related to bank mergers without her consent.

Biden administration appointees moved quickly to highlight climate change risks and unwind Trump-era regulatory relief and housing finance measures. These regulators and lawmakers will have a seat at the table as the progressive shift in banking policy continues.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren accused the financial services industry of being a major contributor to climate change and urged U.S. regulators to hold it to account.

Industry fears that regulators were souring on bank mergers have eased somewhat after the Federal Reserve finally signed off on WSFS Financial’s acquisition of Bryn Mawr Bank and several other deals that had been awaiting the green light.

Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis, one of the crypto industry’s staunchest supporters in Congress, is planning to introduce a comprehensive bill next year that would cover everything from how digital assets are taxed and categorized to consumer protections. 

Maxine Waters, the House Financial Services Committee chair, is questioning Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chief Jelena McWilliams's claim that board Democrats' request for comment on merger policy was invalid without her support.

With the Biden administration suffering setbacks in trying to appoint a Senate-confirmed leader at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, acting Comptroller Michael Hsu could emerge as the consensus choice, observers said.

The state Department of Financial Protection and Innovation issued a cease-and-desist order against Nano Banc, saying the troubled bank violated an earlier consent agreement when it replaced five board members and appointed a new CEO without the regulator’s permission.

The year's biggest storylines included an M&A revival, a reexamination of overdraft fees, a changing of the guard in Washington and the rise of new technologies. Here's a look back.

Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter praised Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra “for his leadership" on bank merger issues. Chopra and two other Democratic board members at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are locked in a battle with Chair Jelena McWilliams over the agency’s own merger policy.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which has responded effectively to many external crises, has no playbook for addressing this internal battle on its own.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released draft “supervisory principles” for banks with more than $100 billion of assets, saying they should account for weather-related risks. Officials said public feedback on the guidelines will help inform more detailed interagency policy next year.

In attempting to advance a measure dealing with bank merger policy, the three Democratic board members at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. were really trying to "wrest control" of the agency, Chair Jelena McWilliams said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Caroline Pham, a managing director at Citigroup, would fill one of two seats on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission reserved for Republican appointees.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra has helped assert the authority of the three Democrats — including himself — who serve on the governing body of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. GOP lawmakers responded with a bill to strip the consumer agency's head of voting powers on the FDIC board.

The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in financial services, while promising, is not without risk. It's on federal regulators to ensure that algorithms relied on by banks and credit unions aren't harming businesses and consumers.

Neither Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Jelena McWilliams nor the board’s three Democratic directors gave ground in their dispute over control of the agency and the direction of bank merger policy during a meeting Tuesday.