Politics

The core function of the Federal Home Loan Bank System — advances to member institutions — plummeted 20% last year to $350 billion, its lowest level in 15 years. That erosion of purpose is emboldening critics, who say the Home Loan banks need to change or face irrelevance.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is accusing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of pressuring Equifax, Experian and Transunion into removing most medical debt from credit reports, a move he says would compromise lenders' ability to gauge risk. Democrats, experts who testified at a hearing Tuesday and the CFPB pushed back.

Banking and credit union regulators are expected to respond to a White House call to root out discrimination in the predominantly white appraisal business. They will likely step up enforcement and data collection, reclaiming authority long ceded to the industry's governing body.

The City Council recently voted 15-1 to establish a financial authority that would provide credit enhancements on loans to underserved borrowers. Public banking advocates say the effort is both an interim step for Philadelphia and a test case for other cities.

Banking executives and analysts worry that the Federal Reserve's aggressive plan to raise interest rates will be insufficient to tame inflation and overcome economic fallout from the war in Ukraine.

All five of the Biden administration's nominees received enough votes to secure passage to the Senate floor. Chair Sherrod Brown of Ohio called the moment "historic."

The West Virginia Democrat released a statement Monday saying that Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Biden's nominee to serve as the Federal Reserve's top regulator, "failed to satisfactorily address my concerns" and that he would not support her. Manchin's "no" vote puts her confirmation very much in doubt.

The bill, part of the omnibus spending package, would force banks and other critical infrastructure providers to tell the government right away when they’ve been breached.

The Montana Democrat also urged his Senate colleagues to pass the SAFE Banking Act, while Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas claimed that the Republican boycott of Sarah Bloom Raskin had nothing to do with her views on climate change.

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.