Regulatory reform

Banks and other financial firms say the proposal to reverse restrictions on investment advisers does not go far enough. Meanwhile, investor advocates say it would loosen necessary protections.

Trade groups are still pushing for the industry's priorities, such as temporarily lifting the member business lending cap, as negotiations over the next round of aid continue.

The regulator announced in June it would use call report data from before the crisis to calculate bank assessment fees in September, a one-time change.

Just as legal limbo has threatened the agency’s long-running effort to create a fintech license, a charter unique to payments companies could face a court challenge, observers say.

The mortgage giants will have to meet benchmarks for covering cash flow needs during stressed periods. The FHFA views the requirements as a prerequisite to the companies exiting conservatorship.

Members of the Senate Banking Committee took the agency’s leader to task for eliminating underwriting requirements for small-dollar lenders, which lawmakers said has left consumers more vulnerable during the pandemic.

Seven trade groups said they would fight any effort by the agency to establish a tailored license for payments providers such as PayPal, Stripe and Square.

The agency plans to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking dealing with efforts by fintechs and data aggregators to leverage a consumer's bank account information.

The regulation allows banks to add employees with past convictions for trivial crimes after the industry complained the prior rules were too severe.

The national conversation around systemic racism has compelled large banks to withdraw support from the “disparate impact” proposal. But community banks maintain that the proposed reforms would reduce frivolous claims.