Financial Stability

The results of the Federal Reserve’s latest Senior Financial Officer Survey results indicated most bankers expect their balance sheets to remain unchanged over the next six months and plan to prioritize retention rather than growth strategies, with some exceptions. Read on »

The Senate voted to confirm Michelle “Miki” Bowman to serve at the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision. The financial services industry, which has expressed strong support for Bowman since her nomination in March, reacted favorably to her confirmation. Read on »

A federal court is considering a request for a temporary stay on litigation in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Federal Reserve’s bank stress testing regime. The plaintiffs joined with the Fed in asking for a halt in proceedings, acknowledging the agency’s “good-faith effort” to address transparency concerns raised in the suit. Read on »

The minutes from the May 6-7 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee offer key insights into the considerations behind its recommendation for the Federal Reserve to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at a target range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent and the direction interest rates could be headed in the near future. Read on »

Moody’s Ratings downgraded the credit ratings for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Bank System and the Farm Credit System by one notch in May, citing concerns over the nation’s growing debt and fiscal challenges. Despite the downgrade, Moody’s updated its outlooks for the government-sponsored entities from negative to stable, indicating no further downgrades are anticipated in the near future. Read on »

The Federal Reserve announced there will be no change to the federal funds rate following the May meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC). The committee concluded maintaining the target range at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent was the best approach given economic indicators suggesting the risk of higher inflation and unemployment has increased. Read on »

Federal banking regulators have taken steps to improve clarity surrounding digital banking activities, including crypto-assets and digitalization. Find out about some of the latest regulatory moves in this respect and more in this roundup. Read on »

The Federal Reserve has withdrawn various supervisory guidance materials outlining policies regarding cryptocurrencies and other digital tokens. The agency characterized the moves as necessary to ensure industry expectations align with evolving risks and further support innovation in the banking system. Read on »

Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman, the Trump administration’s nominee to be the agency’s new vice chair for supervision, was praised by Republicans but faced heavy scrutiny from Democrats during her Senate confirmation hearing. Read on »

Another chapter was written in the ongoing legal saga concerning the embattled Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week. Shortly after a federal court partially lifted a court order preventing mass firings at the bureau, the Trump administration resumed its plans to gut the agency, prompting the courts to intervene again. Read on »