Regulatory reform

Despite assurances by Director Kathy Kraninger that the agency is cracking down on discrimination, it hasn't sent a Department of Justice referral on a fair-lending violation in two years.

As required by last year's reg relief law, the agency is planning to raise the asset threshold for organizations conducting a stress test from $10 billion to $250 billion.

While the banking industry has applauded regulators’ effort, community groups say the proposal needs to be reworked or it will hurt those the law was meant to help.

The lawmakers sent a letter to the comptroller of the currency requesting his appearance before the Senate Banking Committee after he was unable to attend a hearing last week.

Regulators’ sweeping proposal to reform implementation of the Community Reinvestment Act has drawn strong opinions on both sides.

The proposal comes after years of criticism that the current policy stifles innovation and hamstrings banks' ability to raise funds.

The long-awaited proposal by the OCC and FDIC to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act would seek to make grading simpler and more transparent while allowing banks to spread loans and investments across a broader geographic area.

In a rare move, the House Financial Services Committee chairwoman will lead a congressional delegation to a public FDIC board meeting as it considers releasing a proposal to rework the Community Reinvestment Act.

The Fed chairman said he has not given up on the central bank agreeing with other regulatory agencies on a plan to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act, but admitted, "I don’t know whether that will be possible or not.”

Chairman Jelena McWilliams previewed a proposal to update the agency’s definition of brokered funds, but also suggested steps lawmakers could take to improve the rule’s underlying statute.

The banking industry could finally have answers soon on the degree of agreement between regulators reforming the Community Reinvestment Act, how they envision CRA zones of the future and other key matters.

The two Democratic senators said the bureau's policy could allow companies to circumvent consumer finance laws.

The meeting scheduled for Dec. 12 will also include discussion of a proposal on the agency's definition of brokered deposits.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill to require CFPB approval for certain bank merger applications in the wake of regulators' approval of a deal between BB&T and SunTrust.

Lawmakers blasted an apparent decision by the OCC and FDIC to move forward with a proposal to reform the Community Reinvestment Act without the support of the Fed.

Her comments signaled cooperation between the two agencies on a coming proposal to revamp the Community Reinvestment Act, but she raised questions about CRA assessment areas and developing a single compliance metric.

The agency said it plans to make its cost-benefit process “more structured” and incorporate “a number of analytical practices identified in standard references.”

The agency announced changes meant to reduce compliance costs and allow some institutions to provide estimates rather than disclose exact prices for international money transfers.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and other regulatory agencies confirmed that the recent legalization of the substance eases banks' anti-money-laundering requirements.

The agency’s director previewed a policy for companies under enforcement action to have their orders terminated if they comply ahead of schedule.