Biden Administration

Transportation and clean-energy upgrades could create significant new lending opportunities, but some observers fear the government will foot the bill through a special tax on banks and other financial firms.

Economist Lisa Cook has the backing of several key White House officials and allies outside the administration as a possible choice for President Joe Biden in filling a vacancy on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Biden administration’s yet-to-be-named comptroller of the currency is widely expected to invalidate the GOP-backed measure that bars banks from shunning gun makers, fossil-fuel producers and the like. But another option is to recast it to promote investment in underserved communities.

Trump appointee Jelena McWilliams is slated to be the agency's chair until mid-2023. But legal experts say a provision in the FDIC’s bylaws gives Democratic members of the governing board, now in the majority, an opening to reverse earlier rules championed by Republicans.

Though the pandemic recession has driven up the delinquency rate on Federal Housing Administration loans, the president's appointees are widely expected to reduce mortgage insurance premiums by at least 25 basis points to make home loans less expensive.