Regulatory reform

With the new Congress sworn in, trade associations are already pushing their legislative wish lists, including more regulatory oversight of fintechs and protecting the industry's tax exemption.

Congress's enactment of the defense spending bill opposed by the White House removes the final hurdle for a key anti-money-laundering provision.

In the waning days of the Trump administration, the agency issued a new legal theory of its power to let national banks evade state consumer protection laws. But some state attorneys general and consumer groups charge the federal regulator is attempting to sidestep restrictions imposed by Dodd-Frank.

The top Democrats on the House and Senate banking committees urged the Trump administration to pull the plug on any steps to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the pandemic still taking a toll on the economy.

The proposal would require the government-sponsored enterprises to craft resolution plans similar to regulations imposed on the largest U.S. banks.

The agency said it may exempt certain institutions from having to file suspicious activity reports if they have “innovative solutions intended to meet Bank Secrecy Act requirements more efficiently and effectively." But in those circumstances, law enforcement may still require SARs.

The agency’s second in-depth study of the community banking sector pointed to continued challenges for local institutions from the pandemic and other headwinds, but many smaller banks are reaping the benefits of M&A and holding their own against larger competitors in key lending categories.

The revamp of the brokered deposits framework offers relief to banks and their partners that saw the prior rule as outdated. Meanwhile, new standards for industrial loan company parents aim to clarify the bank chartering process for fintechs and other nontraditional firms.

The agency's principals are scheduled to meet Dec. 15 to vote on a new definition for brokered deposits and on regulatory standards for industrial bank parents.

The consumer bureau's revamp of criteria for "qualified mortgages," a special regulatory class of loans free from liability, emphasizes pricing instead of a borrower's debt-to-income ratio.