OCC

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has gotten the ball rolling for financial technology firms trying to operate a national platform, but the FDIC and Federal Reserve should act to remove other policy roadblocks.

An agency report said servicing portfolios have shrunk by nearly half in 10 years as much of the mortgage market has shifted to nonbanks.

The effort to raise the threshold for transactions excused from appraisal requirements responds to concerns that the current threshold is outpaced by real estate prices.

While they won’t be in position to enact legislation, House Democrats could use their newfound power to spotlight issues that Republicans have largely ignored, including the exploding levels of corporate debt.

“We have actually discouraged banks from innovating,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said in announcing a move that other agencies have made.

Federal and state regulators are at odds over the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s new licensing program, but there are ways to improve current law to appease both sides.

Seven Republican senators urged regulators on Monday to consider additional changes to the Volcker Rule's "covered funds" definition.

The House of Representatives passed two bills that would tie appraisal waivers for Small Business Administration loans to bank rules for commercial real estate loans, despite objections from the Appraisal Institute about its members being cut out of transactions.

The changes mandated by the recent regulatory relief law would narrow the definition of "high-volatility commercial real estate" exposures that get a higher risk weight.

The state's banking regulator and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors are reviving litigation after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it would accept charter applications.