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Readers react to the Fed warming up to CRA reforms, criticize the Democratic presidential candidates, defend Pittsburgh as a megabank attraction and more. ... Read full article

The central bank may need to rethink how it uses a tool meant to combat elevated risk in boom times, said Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles. ... Read full article

The Alternative Reference Rates Committee promotes the adoption of a new Secured Overnight Financing Rate index rate to replace Libor in pricing hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages within the next two years. The change would be the first application of SOFR ... Read full article

The head of the Senate Banking Committee said the panel could examine an industry-supported cannabis banking bill "relatively soon." ... Read full article

For the second straight day, concerns about Facebook's cryptocurrency project dominated lawmakers’ questioning of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. ... Read full article

The central bank has a long history of fighting reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act, until now. ... Read full article

President Trump defended troubled Deutsche Bank on Thursday and said the German financial institution wanted his business, which is now the subject of investigations by congressional Democrats. ... Read full article

Past due home equity loans and credit lines rose while most other consumer lending categories held steady or improved, according to new data from the ABA. Why it happened is a bit of a mystery. ... Read full article

Radius Bank in Boston is adding insurers, personal loan providers and wealth management to its platform, copying a playbook popularized in Europe. ... Read full article

The Federal Reserve chairman said the social media giant’s cryptocurrency plan “cannot go forward” without improved regulatory controls. ... Read full article

The chamber passed a bill that would clarify how certain loans backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs are securitized, and legislation encouraging first-time homebuyers to participate in counseling programs. ... Read full article

The Fed chairman's exchange with House lawmakers Wednesday comes amid President Trump's criticism of Powell and the central bank’s policy decisions. ... Read full article

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is a successful privacy law that ought to govern all financial services providers, not just banks. ... Read full article

Powell sees need to "keep firms on their toes" while Quarles wants easier tests; €52 million paid to leaving execs nears total paid to board. ... Read full article

Treasury and HUD are close to unveiling administrative and legislative options for ending the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Will their findings be heavy on detail or leave a lot unanswered? ... Read full article

Bank regulators finalized a proposal to exclude small institutions from the proprietary trading ban, as required by last year’s reg relief bill. ... Read full article

The agency had decided not to challenge a recent court ruling that its structure violates the separation of powers, but newly confirmed Director Mark Calabria now appears willing to the fight the case. ... Read full article

The PFM app provider Personal Capital set up a safe way for hackers to expose vulnerabilities in its software. ... Read full article