Brendan Pedersen

The $369 billion directed toward climate preparedness in the Inflation Reduction Act is expected to reverberate through the economy for years to come and could supercharge private investment in the nation's clean energy sector. 

A new bipartisan senate caucus organized around community development financial institutions is just the latest sign that the sector's political influence is reaching new heights. 

Led by Rep. French Hill, the group of conservative lawmakers said the agency must do more to ensure appropriate transparency regarding any new products or activities that the enterprises undertake.

Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, Truist Financial and PNC Financial were among the banks that said they are raising their prime lending rates from 4.0% to 4.75%.

In a letter Tuesday to CEO Charlie Scharf, Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown pointed to recent media reports and said he expected Wells Fargo to develop a plan addressing “weaknesses that have plagued the bank for almost a decade.”

The move from Republican senators mirrors an effort launched in the House, where Citibank also provides credit cards for congressional business. Republicans will be unable to enact such changes unless they take either chamber in upcoming elections.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is accusing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of pressuring Equifax, Experian and Transunion into removing most medical debt from credit reports, a move he says would compromise lenders' ability to gauge risk. Democrats, experts who testified at a hearing Tuesday and the CFPB pushed back.

All five of the Biden administration's nominees received enough votes to secure passage to the Senate floor. Chair Sherrod Brown of Ohio called the moment "historic."

The West Virginia Democrat released a statement Monday saying that Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Biden's nominee to serve as the Federal Reserve's top regulator, "failed to satisfactorily address my concerns" and that he would not support her. Manchin's "no" vote puts her confirmation very much in doubt.

The Montana Democrat also urged his Senate colleagues to pass the SAFE Banking Act, while Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas claimed that the Republican boycott of Sarah Bloom Raskin had nothing to do with her views on climate change.

The Biden administration's decision to bar oil and gas imports from Russia could increase domestic production and energy lending yet impede overall growth and demand for credit.

Senate Democrats insist the GOP's boycott of President Biden's picks for the Federal Reserve is interfering with the central bank's handling of an economic crisis. But GOP lawmakers say the Fed is functioning fine and their concerns about nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin are material.

A crucial centrist vote among Democrats, the Montana lawmaker and Senate Banking Committee member predicts the full chamber will support Raskin's nomination for vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve Board if she advances out of committee on Tuesday.

The White House's pick for vice chair for supervision, Sarah Bloom Raskin, took the brunt of criticism from Republicans on Thursday. But it seemed to do little to sow doubt among the Senate Banking Committee's moderate Democrats about Raskin or fellow nominees Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson.

Republicans have knocked Sarah Bloom Raskin as too liberal on climate change and Lisa Cook as underqualified ahead of a Senate Banking Committee hearing Thursday. Meanwhile, a Democratic senator's illness threatens to stall nomination votes in the full chamber.

The Federal Reserve Board would become far more diverse if Sarah Bloom Raskin, Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook are confirmed by the Senate. Jefferson and Cook are respected economists seen as likely to get the nod, but Republicans will challenge Raskin's assertions that bank regulators can play a vital role in combating climate change.

Jerome Powell sought to strike a political balance at his reconfirmation hearing. He assured Republicans the Federal Reserve wouldn't overstep its authority on bank mergers and other matters, while telling Democrats the central bank has a responsibility to monitor financial stability and the risks of climate change.

Democrats largely left the financial sector alone last year. But they are attempting to resurrect a bank tax-reporting plan to help pay for President Biden’s social policy package while keeping a close eye on cryptocurrency and how regulators review mergers.

In a letter to the agency’s new director, top Senate Democrats recommended policy steps intended to limit mistakes in consumers’ credit files that they said “can ruin lives.”

Criticism from banking and other business groups of Saule Omarova’s candidacy could make it difficult for moderate Democrats to support President Biden's pick to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.