Trump administration

Anticipating recession, banks start scrubbing loan books; how Trump's political appointees thwarted tougher settlements with two big banks; the Fed's plans on its real-time payment service; and more from this week's most-read stories.

U.S. financial stocks are down nearly 4% this week on rate pressure, but it’s even worse for European banks; the mutual fund giant will automatically sweep investor cash into a money fund yielding 1.9%.

Vice Chairman Randal Quarles’ public dissent raises questions about how the board will proceed on other policy debates.

Former central bank chiefs Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke said the Fed must be allowed to act "free of short-term political pressures and ... without the threat of removal or demotion."

After talks with well-connected lawyers for Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland, senior Justice Department officials in Washington last year overruled career prosecutors who had been investigating wrongdoing that cost investors billions.

Some believe the administration will delay action on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to avoid any political fallout. Others say the window for reform is closing.

Eric Blankenstein, now at HUD, is under fire for asking a subordinate to defend him after it was revealed he wrote racially charged blogs 14 years earlier.

The Treasury secretary said the U.S. government has significant concerns about digital currencies, including their potential as tools for money launderers.

The Trump administration is growing wary of taking bold steps toward freeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from federal control before the 2020 election, said people familiar with the matter, in part because of the political risk of potentially upending the U.S. mortgage market.

President says Facebook could face “full banking regulation”; big banks’ farm loan portfolios have shrunk more than 17% since 2015

President Trump defended troubled Deutsche Bank on Thursday and said the German financial institution wanted his business, which is now the subject of investigations by congressional Democrats.

Treasury and HUD are close to unveiling administrative and legislative options for ending the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Will their findings be heavy on detail or leave a lot unanswered?

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s job is safe for now, according to Larry Kudlow, top economic adviser to President Donald Trump.

The president says he’ll nominate Judy Shelton, Christopher Waller for Fed; the bank reportedly in talks to sell parts of its “once prized” equities business.

A group of Senate Democrats have called on HUD Secretary Ben Carson to reverse his agency’s opinion that borrowers in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program are ineligible for FHA loans.

The president signed an executive order Tuesday establishing a White House council dedicated to examining regulatory barriers to affordable housing.

President Trump has told confidants as recently as Wednesday that he believes he has the authority to replace Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, according to people familiar with the matter.

As Facebook's Libra takes shape, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says he is "not too concerned" about the impact on central banks.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the agency is closely monitoring leveraged lending risks, but suggests further regulations on banks aren’t warranted.

The mortgage agency has hired Eric Blankenstein, who sparked controversy while at the consumer bureau over past revelations of racially charged writings.