The lawmakers are attempting to block the regulation reforming the anti-redlining rule under review powers granted to Congress, but the move is largely symbolic with the Senate and White House controlled by the GOP.
Several Senate Banking Committee members from both parties are facing tough reelection challenges in a year when control of the entire chamber — and the banking policy agenda — may be up for grabs.
The congressional showdown over the pace of rulemaking during the pandemic is a hardening of older positions on banking policy ahead of the 2020 elections, observers said.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency watered down numeric metrics that some groups blasted and allowed more institutions to opt out of the new regime. But whether the agency has won over any detractors remains to be seen.
Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting’s regulation reforming the Community Reinvestment Act lacks performance metrics criticized in an earlier proposal. But neither the FDIC nor the Fed is supporting the final plan.
The final regulation will significantly revise a December proposal, responding to concerns from stakeholders. Meanwhile, in a surprising move, the regulator who had championed the reforms is expected to resign this week.
The industry dodged a bullet after the former vice president outlasted more progressive rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. But some worry the presumptive nominee will have to consider calls for tougher regulation from his party's liberal wing.
The plan first announced in February to update the deposit insurance sign and logo at bank tellers and ATMs became just the latest regulatory effort slowed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The agencies will give the industry another month to submit feedback on the so-called covered fund portion of the rule "in light of potential disruptions resulting from the coronavirus.”
