Trump administration

From Democrats winning control of Congress to an escalating trade war and technology companies applying for a fintech charter, there are plenty of scary prospects facing the industry.

Legendary former central banker Paul Volcker praised Jerome Powell as the current Federal Reserve chairman faces fire from President Donald Trump for raising interest rates.

President Trump said he won't fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell but blamed an "out of control" U.S. central bank for the worst stock market sell-off since February.

Senate Democrats on Wednesday called for acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney to reveal the vetting process that led to the hiring of a political appointee whose past incendiary writings have caused an uproar at the agency.

The senior Democratic lawmaker said the CFPB chief and the Trump administration "are doing everything in their power to roll back consumer protections."

The head of the National Treasury Employees Union said the appointment of Eric Blankenstein to a senior role “reflects poorly on CFPB management.”

Eric Blankenstein, a political appointee overseeing fair-lending policy at the agency, said in an email to staff that his blog posts from 14 years ago that used a racial epithet “reflected poor judgment.”

What started as a single senior official at the CFPB voicing concerns about blog posts written 14 years ago by Eric Blankenstein, a top agency political appointee, is rapidly becoming a rising chorus of discontent.

At least six Trump administration picks to fill financial posts are still pending, but the bitterly partisan divide over Judge Brett Kavanaugh has taken up most of the energy in Congress.

Another regulator has already gone out on its own with an advance notice of proposed rulemaking. But, Powell said, "It’s a process and we’re very much interested in pushing forward.”