Claire Williams

Congressional Review Act resolutions are ramping up ahead of the 2024 election cycle. Experts say that, although none are likely to become law, the resolutions are still powerful messaging and political tools.

The House Financial Services Committee also sent to the full House two bipartisan bills, including one that would prevent large banks from opting out of having to recognize Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in regulatory capital.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that he would like to examine the proposed acquisition on "narrower bases."

A federal judge in Texas sided with bank trade groups, agreeing that bank regulators might have overstepped their authority in reforming parts of the Community Reinvestment Act.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent separate letters to banking regulators on the anniversary of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, with Hagerty questioning the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s sale of Signature Bank's assets and Warren urging the regulators to tighten capital and liquidity requirements.

The letter, which was sent to bank regulators, represents a further escalation of lawmaker criticism of the Basel III endgame proposal, and comes just as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to testify in the House Financial Services Committee.

Rep. Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, led the letter, spurred by the recent merger announcement between Capital One and Discover, which the letter said would enable the merged company "to influence multiple points of the marketplace."

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said in a speech Tuesday that banks might need to establish margin to counteract counterparty risks presented by private funds.

The lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the deal would further anti-consumer bank consolidation, but also criticized the OCC's proposed changes to the merger process, asking that they be strengthened.

The blockbuster merger proposal will be reviewed at a time when the Biden administration is expressing skepticism about consolidation. Its analysis will have to account for markets dominated by both big banks and the likes of Visa and Mastercard.

American Honda Finance Corp., the financing division of carmaker Honda, says that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent it a "civil investigative demand" connected to the "furnishing of credit reporting information on consumer accounts."

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that a rate cut is coming, but cast doubt about whether the central bank would see enough data suggesting inflation is sufficiently tamed for interest rates to come down at their next meeting.

A group of Democratic lawmakers have written to federal regulators asking them to reconsider potential chilling effects on clean energy financing in the Basel III endgame proposal.

While much of the attention in next year's election is on the top of the ticket, there are several other important races in 2024 that banks need to keep on their radar.

Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and John Kennedy, R-La., have reintroduced their ILC bill that would subject companies that hold an ILC charter to similar oversight as traditional banks, while measures to cap interest rates and ban 'trigger leads' have also been introduced.

Led by Senate Banking Committee ranking member Tim Scott, R-S.C., GOP members of the Senate Banking Committee say they have concerns about Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg's leadership ability.

The fireworks that traditionally accompany big bank CEOs' appearances in Congress were absent Wednesday, but instead executives pushed their opposition to the Basel III capital rules and its impact on the economy. 

During a second day of comparatively mild questioning from lawmakers in semiannual oversight hearings, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said artificial intelligence could exacerbate existing weaknesses in the financial system without tighter protections.

The financial services industry has run TV ads during football games and organized lobbying visits by small-business owners in its fight against the Basel III endgame plan to raise capital requirements for larger lenders. The tactics are beginning to show signs of working.

Three GOP leaders of the House Financial Services Committee, including Chairman Patrick McHenry, say they'll explore possible connections between the agency's alleged "toxic" work culture and its staffing shortages that may have contributed to this year's banking crisis.