President Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Mark Calabria to become the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Calabria would take over for Mel Watt, whose term is set to expire Jan. 4, 2019. Industry leaders have reacted favorably to Calabria’s pending nomination given his experience with the housing market and support for ending, and even disdain for, the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is on track to have a new chairman with President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he intends to nominate Heath Tarbert for the position.  If confirmed, Tarbert would succeed J. Christopher Giancarlo, who has served as CFTC chairman since August 2017 and is scheduled to remain in the role until April 2019.

Kathy Kraninger was sworn in as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday night by Vice President Mike Pence during a ceremony that was closed to the press. Kraninger held a press conference the next day – her first in office – during which she answered various questions from members of the media who were present. Among the matters she was asked to address were the bureau’s approach to rulemaking and enforcement under acting director Mick Mulvaney, how she plans to handle certain staffing decisions and whether she has concerns about estimated costs associated with officially renaming the CFPB as the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Find out more about what she had to say.

Five financial regulatory bodies urged covered entities to explore innovative compliance approaches pertaining to Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) requirements in a joint statement to industry participants. The statement focuses on ways banks and credit unions can utilize existing tools, as well as new technologies – such as artificial intelligence – to identify and report money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit financial activity.

The Treasury Department recommended against getting the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) involved in the banking business in a report exploring possible methods of generating more revenue for the USPS. The financial industry long has been among those opposed to postal banking services, which once were standard, whereas some politicians have voiced support for the idea.

Multiple federal and state government bodies issued a total of $1.34 billion in fines against a French investment bank for engaging in unsafe and sound business practices. The penalty total is the second-largest ever imposed on a financial institution for violating U.S. economic sanctions laws. The firm has been charged one felony count for conspiring to violate the Trading with the Enemy Act, as well as violations of regulations enforced by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and various New York state laws.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently released its 2019 fees and assessment schedule, noting a 10 percent reduction in marginal rates. The decreasing marginal rates reflect cost savings lowered operating costs at the OCC and projections of the OCC’s costs and revenue.

The same slim voting margin that was enough to end Senate debate on Kathy Kraninger’s nomination to be the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also was sufficient to confirm her for the role. The financial industry and Republicans celebrated the Senate’s 50-49 party-line vote Thursday, whereas Democrats and consumer advocates reiterated their staunch opposition to Kraninger leading the bureau.

A data breach impacting as many as 500 million guests at Marriott’s Starwood properties is among the largest on record and highlighted why many in the financial sector have been pushing for nationwide data security standards that hold retailers as accountable for consumer data safety as financial institutions. Ryan Donovan of the Credit Union National Association and Jeremy Dalpiaz of the Independent Community Bankers of America told Dodd Frank Update why they believe such a standard is imperative.