Regulatory relief

Zions Bancorp. appears to have found a novel approach to escape the added requirements for banks above the Dodd-Frank Act's systemic $50 billion asset threshold, but other banks in a similar position are more likely to wait for Congress to address the issue rather than following suit.

An OCC official said Friday that a change in tone in Washington means banks can expect a softening of regulations soon.

Readers weigh in on the departure of Richard Cordray, debate whether online lenders are akin to subprime lenders, offer praise of a community banker, and more.

The Senate confirmed Joseph Otting, a former business partner of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Departing chairman Martin Gruenberg says the financial system is still vulnerable to unforeseen shocks; bank offers ways for customers to avoid overdraft fees.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg on Tuesday opposed efforts to roll back “core reforms” to bank regulation that were implemented after the 2008 financial crisis, but said some review of the Dodd-Frank law is warranted.

Policymakers have made significant progress in the assigning of regulatory accountability, but more work is necessary.

It was a decidedly mixed bag for banks and credit unions in the Senate regulatory relief bill, with some institutions doing quite well while others were left out in the cold. Following is a guide to who was helped — and who lost out.

The regulatory relief bill would raise the SIFI threshold to $250 billion of assets and allow mortgages held in portfolio to be counted as "qualified," among other items, but it is far less sweeping than institutions had hoped.

While some community bankers and Washington advocates doubt the likelihood of achieving meaningful regulatory relief in the 115th Congress, the many measures advancing on Capitol Hill leave plenty of room for optimism.