Brendan Pedersen

The administration faces a slew of immediate financial policy tasks, such as passing a new round of small-business aid, charting a course for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and filling vacant agency leadership posts.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized a rulemaking Thursday morning opposed by the industry that forces the largest banks to provide services to gun businesses and other sectors to which banks have curtailed lending.

In memos to their staffs, acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger denounced the violence perpetrated by President Trump's supporters and said both agencies remain in operation.

The proposed regulation would codify a 2018 pronouncement by regulators that guidance does not carry the force of law.

The agency finalized a rule to determine which party in a loan sale is subject to regulatory requirements. Advocates charged that the move will help predatory lenders.

A 2019 decision by Amy Coney Barrett, then a 7th Circuit judge, cited an earlier Supreme Court ruling suggesting a high bar for plaintiffs to claim harm. But other jurists have favored a less onerous standard.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors, banking law scholars and consumer advocacy organizations filed amicus briefs siding with the New York State Department of Financial Services in its court battle with the federal regulator.

The new regulation is intended as a workaround for banks affected by the 2015 decision that created legal uncertainty for loans sold across state lines.

The agencies issued a rule to better enable banks to participate in two of the Federal Reserve’s lending facilities and “support the flow of credit to households and businesses.”

While analysts agree banks are in better shape than in 2008, lawmakers are dusting off a crisis-era tool used by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to soothe potential liquidity fears during the coronavirus pandemic.

In signing off on deposit insurance for the payments giant and student loan servicer, the FDIC sanctioned the first new industrial loan companies in over a decade.

Nonbanks hold a disproportionate percentage of the worst-rated loans, but banks hold a majority of the market, and risk management safeguards are largely untested, according to an interagency report on shared national credit.

To guard against headwinds in the agricultural sector, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recommended that institutions consider the “overall financial status” of farm loan borrowers.

With fintech firms appearing stuck in neutral in their efforts to seek bank charters from federal regulatory agencies, observers say state licensing options could be in vogue again in 2020.

The board- and management-level handing of CRE concentration was the chief concern of FDIC examiners, making up more than 56% of all the supervisory recommendations regulators made in the two-year period.

In October, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero ruled against the OCC in a case brought by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

The agency’s semiannual report warned institutions to be mindful of operational risks from the innovation in core banking systems, and detailed supervisory steps to monitor the adoption of a new reference rate.

Alternative data "may improve the speed and accuracy of credit decisions and may help firms evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers," the agencies said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s exemption from the Qualified Mortgage rule is on borrowed time, but a House bill would allow lenders to use the mortgage giants’ guidelines for documenting borrower income.

Many in the space are seeking the creation of a "flexible" supervisory regime that relies on existing authorities and a hands-off approach from state agencies, but such a plan faces an uphill battle.