Politics

President Donald Trump has signed a Congressional Review Act resolution that eliminates the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's Biden-era rules requiring stricter reviews of bank mergers and a time-out clock for some institutions.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender says Basel capital rules need to fit the U.S. economy and avoid discouraging banks from lending.

Financial markets were shaken but not stirred this past spring, according to the Federal Reserve, as swinging stock prices and bond yields did little to bring down elevated asset prices or leverage. 

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled that Republicans cannot move ahead with slashing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding and Federal Reserve staff pay in the tax bill.

Pursuant to an executive order on "overcriminalization," the OCC said it will revise its guidance for referring regulatory offenses to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution and will publish a review of criminally enforceable regulations by May 2026.

The president's rush to weaponize trade policy is going to accelerate efforts by other countries to decrease their reliance on U.S.-based payments processors. That's not in the country's interest.

The removal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a viable regulator has thrown the doors open to the kind of unscrupulous behavior that triggered the last major financial crisis.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is restricting its civil penalty fund from paying for consumer education and financial literacy programs.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the changes could touch the central bank's quarterly economic forecasts. He also discussed downsizing at the Fed and his tenure on the board of governors.

Both regional banks operate health savings account businesses, which could gain more customers, more fee revenue and more low-cost deposits if Congress includes a major HSA expansion in its final budget reconciliation bill.

Bill Pulte's social media posts saying inflation has fallen far enough added to intensified political pressure on the independent Federal Reserve chairman.

Even as unpredictable trade policies slowed down mergers in other sectors, banks have kept inking M&A deals at the same pace, according to a new report.

A group of more than 50 bipartisan financial experts, including former Fed Chairs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen, said that effectively eliminating the Office of Financial Research and weakening the Financial Stability Oversight Council would have devastating effects for the financial system.

The scheme used fake bank reps, social engineering and crypto to loot U.S. accounts across borders, according to the agency's Office of Inspector General.

The Trump administration is seeking to fire roughly 90% of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's staff and is fighting for that right in court. But if the administration prevails, can other consumer protection authorities from other federal regulators pick up the slack?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cited ongoing litigation and cost benefits in extending compliance by roughly a year with reporting data on the race, ethnicity and gender of small business loan applicants.

In 2021, banks pledged to wind down their support for oil and gas. Last year they made a $162 billion U-turn, according to a new report from a coalition of advocacy groups.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed a bill that delays the implementation of the interchange law for a year while banks fight it in court.

Wise bankers will recognize that as the Trump administration dismantles much of the supervisory structure built up over past decades, regulatory risks are being supplanted by other dangers.

As the Senate stands poised to pass a landmark bill establishing rules for stablecoin issuers, a provision allowing state-chartered uninsured banks to operate in states without prior approval is drawing concern from observers and opposition from state regulators.