Brendan Pedersen

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.

Saule Omarova supports allowing the Federal Reserve to hold customer deposits and is skeptical of big-bank M&A. While those views are unpopular in the industry, banking critics hailed the choice to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The agency’s enforcement action against Better Future Forward says the nonprofit’s income-share agreements — an alternative education finance product — must follow the Truth in Lending Act just like other forms of student loans.

Sens. Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over reg relief policies instituted by the central bank, signaling that some progressive lawmakers may be reluctant to give him a second term.

Income share agreements, which allow college graduates to repay tuition financing as a percentage of their future income, have come under fire lately from consumer advocates for questionable marketing and other potential legal violations. Some hope a partnership between a Virginia bank and an ISA provider will give the product more legitimacy, while others worry it just masks risks for borrowers.

A congressional resolution that invalidates the regulation issued last fall by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would help regulators crack down on so-called rent-a-bank schemes that promote predatory lending, the president said before signing the measure.

Some worry the Senate’s rejection of the OCC rule hampers efforts to clarify legal standards for banks selling loans to fintechs.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said he plans to prioritize "solving urgent problems and addressing pressing issues" until the Biden administration selects a permanent head of the agency.

The Treasury Department announced that Michael Hsu, a senior official at the Federal Reserve, would lead the national bank regulator until a Senate-confirmed comptroller is in place.

Critics say the regulation issued by the Office of the Comptroller Currency is a gift to predatory lenders. But the trade organizations warned lawmakers that invalidating it will make it difficult for the agency to create an improved framework in the future.

Three months into President Biden’s term, the White House has yet to select a nominee to run the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or pick an acting chief. That inaction will make it more difficult for Democrats to unwind Trump-era policies, critics say.