Regulatory relief

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told senators that the central bank is willing to explore a credit-sensitive interest benchmark in addition to the secured overnight financing rate, which some banks say could cause problems during economic stress.

In a letter to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, the Democratic senators argue that task force members cannot be trusted to protect consumers because they have represented payday lenders or Wall Street banks, or worked at law firms that did so.

In a letter to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, the Democratic senators argue that task force members cannot be trusted to protect consumers because they have represented payday lenders or Wall Street banks, or worked at law firms that did so.

After the State of the Union speech Tuesday, Republican lawmakers hailed the president's economic record while Democrats continued criticism of an administration plan to reform the Community Reinvestment Act.

Now that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it will scrap an unpopular standard for so-called qualified mortgages, the big question is what will take its place.

The new regulation aims to standardize the process for determining if those owning less than a quarter of a bank must comply with holding company requirements.

In another rollback of the bank trading ban, the federal agencies unveiled a plan to allow financial institutions to invest in multiple companies through certain fund structures.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he was “comfortable” with a recent speech by Gov. Lael Brainard objecting to significant aspects of the Community Reinvestment Act plan proposed by the OCC and FDIC.

Most stakeholders agree that the Community Reinvestment Act needs to be updated, but a congressional hearing featuring the regulator leading the overhaul effort showed just how contentious the process has become.

The Financial Services Committee will also hold hearings next month on monetary policy, the CFPB and "astroturfing" worries, among other things.