The FHFA director’s recent comments about whether the government-sponsored enterprises should be designated as SIFIs tees up a potentially significant element of the mortgage finance debate.
Lawmakers are taking a closer look at the company’s data collection practices and its work on cryptocurrency payments, raising the possibility of more action down the line.
The legislation from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is part of an effort to shift the range of what is thinkable in Washington to the left. It may also serve to highlight the vulnerabilities of Democrats with bank-friendly records.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council is shifting away from designating specific nonbanks and moving toward identifying activities that threaten the whole system. But some say that approach just weakens the council.
As with the debate over guns, climate change and other social issues, banks may find themselves pressured to do more to address the country's wealth gap.
It remains to be seen whether anti-money-laundering provisions will get a deeper look this Congress or whether political optics will divide lawmakers on moving ahead with changes.
If there is renewed interest in a proposal to restrict incentive-based plans, that isn’t enough to overcome obstacles that have hindered the rulemaking for so long.
Banks once again are finding themselves in the political crosshairs over customers they finance, but this time it’s community activists, not the government, leading the charge.
