The company continues to be restricted from pursuing acquisitions until the Federal Reserve lifts its enforcement order requiring it to strengthen anti-money-laundering controls.
The agency has no plans to release general findings from an extensive review of sales practices at large and midsized banks. That's troublesome, and will only fuel the perception that it is too cozy with the institutions it regulates.
An inquiry into the sales practices of more than 40 banks launched in the wake of the Wells scandal found several systemic issues and hundreds of problems at individual institutions. The OCC completed the review in December but is not making the results public.
House Republicans are exiting Congress in droves ahead of the 2018 midterm elections and the stakes for the financial services industry could be significant.
The 2010 law does very little to constrain regulatory power, explaining why Republicans pushed for reforms during the Obama presidency and why, under President Trump, Democrats are so vigorously opposing agency management changes.
Mick Mulvaney, the agency's acting director, said he believes the small-dollar lending rule is too far along to roll back through regulation but hopes Congress will repeal it.
