Policy and Regulation

The new executive order could add lender competition for self-employed borrowers, potentially via a small loan carveout and one for portfolio products.

Early industry reaction to the Federal Reserve's Basel III proposals points to potential capital relief for banks, though stakeholders say the complexity of the changes makes their overall impact unclear.

Federal regulators issued proposals Thursday to implement the final elements of the Basel III accords, adjust the global systemically important bank surcharge and implement standardized approaches for risk-weighted assets. The changes would reduce capital requirements for banks of all sizes affected by the rules.

As the Trump administration limits access to only U.S. citizens, volume in the Small Business Administration's flagship loan program is already trailing the 2025 pace. Experts predict that the tighter eligibility criteria will send more loans to nonbanks.

Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struggled to find a resolution to an injunction issued last year that halted reductions-in-force by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The CFPB is in an existential legal brawl against it's own acting director, Russell Vought, and President Donald Trump, whose confirmed goal is to kill the agency.

The Buffalo-based bank didn't specify the size of potential losses from a suit that grew out of the collapse of subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings. M&T said its trust subsidiary will "vigorously defend itself" against claims by investors who allege that it should have protected them from alleged fraud.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said in comments Wednesday that the central bank plans to publish its Basel III endgame capital proposal for public comment before the end of March.

Preemption would hurt affordability for many, the Conference of State Banking Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators said.