Goldman Sachs pledged in late 2019 to stop financing projects in coal and Arctic oil exploration. Activist groups and Democratic senators say other large institutions should do the same given the economic and environmental risks from climate change.
In a sudden reversal, the OCC and FDIC said they would push back the deadline to April for groups to weigh in on the proposal to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act.
Compared with incendiary fights elsewhere in the capital, deliberations among the banking agencies tend to be more banal. But on issues from the Volcker Rule to CRA reform, disagreements lately between officials have grown sharper.
Most stakeholders agree that the Community Reinvestment Act needs to be updated, but a congressional hearing featuring the regulator leading the overhaul effort showed just how contentious the process has become.
Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting upset some House Democrats when he was a no-show at a previous oversight hearing. They will now get a chance to question him about the future of the Community Reinvestment Act.
The comptroller of the currency stood firm in defense of his agency's proposal, saying skeptics of various parts of the draft framework do not have their facts straight.
The House Financial Services Committee chair asked two regulatory agencies about what steps they've taken to prevent fabricated comment letters as they invite the public to weigh in on Community Reinvestment Act changes.
As the regulatory agencies have struggled to reach a consensus, a proposal championed by Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has divided lawmakers and been assailed by community groups.
Native American leaders are cheering the proposal, which would give banks Community Reinvestment Act credit for making loans made on reservations, even if the lands sit far outside their assessment areas.
