Regtech

A week after the Treasury Department laid out a plan for federal fintech regulation, it is already unclear which agency is leading the charge.

In recent weeks, several banks and fintechs have added new branches or new units, and in the process brought aboard new leadership. Here's a roundup of key hires.

The bureau announced the creation of the Global Financial Innovation Network for regulators to discuss joint policy work and offer a cross-border product testing process.

The skeptics keep waiting for investment in financial startups to dry up, but it doubled in the first half of 2018. KPMG's Safwan Zaheer explains why.

The Trump administration is making more than 80 recommendations to encourage financial innovation within a regulated space, including endorsing the creation of a federal fintech charter.

Federal bank regulators consider roughly a dozen new rules; firms tout tools to help financial institutions bank legal marijuana-related businesses; Mick Mulvaney defends CFPB enforcement powers; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Several firms are touting tools to help financial institutions bank legal marijuana-related businesses, an industry expected to yield $10 billion in retail sales this year.

Europe's new data privacy rules have forced banks to get creative to protect sensitive data from in appropriate access or breaches.

Goldman’s next CEO pushes for more women in senior roles. Fifth Third’s program to retain new moms is working. And there’s good news and bad news at Bank of America, as it bulks up on female summer interns but pays out millions to an exec fired over sexual harassment claims.

Consultants Jo Ann Barefoot and Henri Arslanian explain why fintech startups have taken on compliance challenges.

Raj Date’s new firm, FS Vector, will help cryptocurrency firms and digital upstarts navigate Washington.

The fundraising is a sign of the rise in the anti-money-laundering market, which is expected to reach $4.26 trillion worldwide in less than a decade.

The graduates of this year's Fintech Innovation Lab New York, chosen by executives at 43 banks, are focusing on improving artificial intelligence, solving IT issues and providing a better customer experience.

The company said the aim of a redesign and additional automation is to make its compliance software easier for bankers to use.

With a lighter compliance burden, small banks could shift tech spending to customer-facing innovation.

The program has expanded to seek startups in Chicago and Wisconsin for mentoring and potential partnerships.

Scarlett Sieber will be based in the bank’s Labs division, working on forging partnerships with fintech firms.

Modernized bank technology and improved data sharing would sharpen anti-money-laundering efforts, making crime like human trafficking more risky and less profitable.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding up-and-coming regulatory technologies, including the use of AI and robotics, but banks will have to be patient to see big returns on those investments.

Banks plan to spend more on blockchain and AI in the coming year, and appear willing to explore new technology partnerships.