Banking

When it comes to shaping the regulatory and business environment to best serve the needs of banks and consumers, shortsightedness and lack of consistency may be two of the greatest obstacles facing the financial industry today.

In a 1-on-1 sitdown with Dodd Frank Update at CBA LIVE 2019 in Washington D.C., Consumer Bankers Association President and CEO Richard Hunt detailed his views on the need for cooperation among federal regulators.

Read on for all the details from our interview with Hunt.

In a move that may reinvigorate discussion about the separation between commercial and investment banking, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and 25 of her Democratic colleagues recently introduced legislation to reinstate and expand provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933.

The bill proposes to restrict affiliations between commercial and investment banks, in a manner described in the Banking Act of 1933. It also would make technical and conforming revisions to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed key provisions of Glass-Steagall in 1999.

Find out more details about the legislation.

Numerous financial trade associations have urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to extend a temporary exception from Regulation E remittance disclosure requirements extended to insured depository institutions. 

In a letter addressed to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, the trade groups noted that their contention about the feasibility of providing exact remittance pricing information is supported by a CFPB remittance rule assessment published in October 2018. 

Find out more details about the points raised by the trades.

As fintech companies increase their presence in the banking industry through partnerships and other methods, the financial industry has been home to some mixed reactions.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chairwoman Jelena McWilliams and Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Joseph Otting touched on the dynamic between fintechs and banks with Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) President and CEO Richard Hunt during the closing general session at CBA Live 2019.

Find out what the regulators had to say on the topic.

It wasn’t long after the federal banking agencies announced its intent to set the minimum leverage ratio for community banks at 9 percent that industry advocates began voicing their disapproval. 

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and fellow committee member Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) have urged the agencies to set the ratio at 8 percent, as community banks have advocated.

Find out more details about their reasoning.

The Federal Reserve recently proposed several changes to its resolution planning framework for large banking companies that would reduce the frequency with which certain banks would be required to submit “living wills.” Institutions now required to file full living wills every year would have to do so only once every four or six years under the proposal.

The Fed also has proposed new regulatory capital requirements for U.S. subsidiaries of foreign banking organizations.

Find out more details about the proposal.

Public perception has not always been kind to the banking industry in recent years but that appears to be changing, according to recent Morning Consult poll results revealed during the American Bankers Association’s recent summit in Washington D.C.

A majority of respondents indicated they trust banks with their sensitive information than other businesses and are happy with the customer service their bank provides.

Read on to get more insight.

Despite proposed relief measures submitted by banking and credit union advocates, the Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently voted not to make recommended alterations to its current expected credit loss (CECL) standard.  

Dodd Frank Update spoke with James Kendrick, vice president of accounting and capital policy at the Independent Community Bankers of America, about what FASB’s decision means for the financial industry, specifically with regard to lending activity.

Find out what insight Kendrick had to offer on the matter.

The financial industry is welcoming a recent influx of legislative traction in the push to prevent legitimate marijuana-related businesses and the institutions that finance them from being negatively impacted by federal laws in states where cannabis is legal in one form or another.

One week after the House Financial Services Committee (FSC) advanced a bipartisan bill proposing a safe harbor for firms that provide financial services to cannabis businesses, the Senate introduced its own bipartisan bill that would prevent federal laws from preempting state laws with regard to marijuana legalization.

Find out more about both proposals.

Top of mind for a large portion of attendees at the Consumer Bankers Association’s (CBA) 2019 annual conference in Washington D.C. was if and when federal regulators will take action to modernize Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements, as well as the importance of investing in technology and how to open lines of communication between regulators and banks.

Attendees heard from industry insiders about their views on pertinent issues ahead of interviews with Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Jelena McWilliams, both of whom have power to act on many of the topics discussed.

Get a detailed account of key insights revealed about those issues.