The rules to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act have become "formulaic and ossified" and must be changed to encourage lending practices the law originally intended to foster, the Fed's top regulator said.
The reserve bank's proposal to address banks and nonbanks that remain "too big to fail" does not include two of the largest such institutions: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced a bill to create a permanent law enforcement unit to investigate criminal activity at large banks, just as the Senate was close to passing a regulatory relief package.
Though the Senate regulatory relief bill falls well short of a far-reaching House bill, critics argue it could still increase the chance of another bank bailout by the government and weaken consumer protections. Here are the measures causing the most debate.
The merger of the Financial Services Roundtable and The Clearing House Association is likely to bring a more analytical approach to the combined group’s dealings with lawmakers, emphasizing detailed research over simplified talking points.
Even as Congress and the Trump administration move to ease post-crisis banking rules they say have gone too far, there's still evidence a central problem of the last crisis hasn't been fixed.
The Treasury Department struck a middle ground in recommendations for Dodd-Frank Act wind-down powers, resisting calls to repeal those powers but still addressing concerns that they are too generous to large firms.
The continuing cycle of scandal has forced big banks to get crafty in how they influence debate in Washington. The latest action against Wells ensures more backroom dealing.
