Regulations & Policy
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Nebraska's Ericson State Bank closes, marking year's 1st failure
A state regulator sought the bank president's resignation in October 2019, while the FDIC asked for one- and three-year plans for solvency. A three-way merger proposed the following month is now off.
By Dan Ennis • Feb. 18, 2020 -
Royal Bank of Scotland dumps its name in rebrand, deepens climate pledge
In changing its name to NatWest Group, the bank is looking to distance itself from a near-collapse in 2008 that has left it 62% government-owned to this day.
By Dan Ennis • Feb. 14, 2020 -
Lawmakers look to boost banks' transparency on diversity efforts
Fifteen of the 44 banks examined in a House panel report publicly disclosed their internal reviews of gender pay gap data. The same report found 29% of senior- and executive-level positions at those banks are held by women.
By Dan Ennis • Feb. 14, 2020 -
JPMorgan Chase sued over alleged bias against black bankers
The practice of "open race matching and racial steering" puts black bankers in often less-safe, lower-income branches, limiting their access to wealthier clients and income potential, the suit alleges.
By Dan Ennis • Feb. 13, 2020 -
Wells Fargo ends mandatory arbitration for workplace sexual harassment
Companies use mandatory arbitration clauses to resolve disputes outside of the court system. Critics say the practice helps keep complaints from coming to light.
By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 13, 2020 -
N26 cites Brexit in leaving the UK market
Customers in the country must withdraw or transfer money from their accounts with the digital bank by April 15. The majority of N26's U.K. staff will move into new roles with the company.
By Dan Ennis • Feb. 12, 2020 -
Varo receives FDIC approval on the way to becoming a bank
The challenger bank must yet pass a pre-opening exam from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a process Varo management expects to be complete by June.
By Dan Ennis • Feb. 11, 2020 -
Morgan Stanley donates $20M to children's mental health
The alliance of seven nonprofits in the space, with an emphasis on marginalized communities, marks the latest effort by a bank to seek an activist role — and greater visibility — on a social issue.
By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 06, 2020 -
Wells Fargo, Upstart criticized after study finds loan disparities
Five senators are asking Upstart's CEO to show how the company tests its credit model for fair lending after a nonprofit claimed black borrowers were charged more than other people with identical credit profiles.
By Dan Ennis • UPDATED: Feb. 14, 2020 at 10:59 p.m. -
CFPB seeks $39M restitution, $7 fine from payday lender Think Finance
The enforcement action comes amid a flurry of activity for the bureau, which sued Citizens Bank last week. Oral arguments in the Supreme Court case regarding the agency's structure are set for March 3.
By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 06, 2020 -
Miami drops reverse redlining claims against top 4 banks
The city claimed it lost tax revenue and was forced to pay to maintain foreclosed properties after Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citi and JPMorgan allegedly targeted nonwhite homeowners for mortgages they couldn't afford.
By Dan Ennis • Feb. 04, 2020 -
Truist seeks more time to reach $1.6B post-merger net savings goal
The nation's sixth-largest bank reported a 7% decrease in net income in its first earnings call after the merger of BB&T and SunTrust.
By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 31, 2020 -
Otting's defense of CRA revamp ignites partisan rift at hearing
House Democrats questioned the comptroller's willingness to cooperate, while Republicans praised his efforts to modernize the low-income lending rule.
By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 30, 2020 -
State Street vows to vote out corporate boards' ESG laggards
Fewer than a quarter of the companies the bank's investment arm has evaluated have meaningfully identified, incorporated and disclosed ESG issues into their strategies, an executive wrote this week.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 28, 2020 -
New credit loss accounting standard expected to pummel retail income
FASB's CECL standard took effect for public banks at the beginning of this year. Analysts at Morgan Stanley say it's going to hit some retailers hard.
By Robert Freedman • Jan. 27, 2020 -
OpinionIndustry-led groups are only the 1st step to open banking
U.S. policymakers must make financial data sharing more fair and transparent if they want Americans to have the same access to fintech tools as other people, a Financial Data and Technology Association executive writes.
By Steve Boms • Jan. 27, 2020 -
CFPB defines 'abusiveness' but draws advocates' fire
The bureau wants to stop punishing companies for violating more than one standard in the same case, but critics say that softens enforcement.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 27, 2020 -
OCC bans ex-Wells Fargo CEO, fines him $17.5M over fake accounts scandal
Five other former executives at the San Francisco-based bank were charged, and two more settled with the regulator after a years-long scandal prompted several leadership changes.
By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 23, 2020 -
Regulator prepping civil charges against ex-Wells Fargo managers
The bank has faced penalties from the OCC in the past, but a charge against former employees would mean the agency wants to hold individuals accountable for the scandal.
By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 23, 2020 -
OCC's CRA plan will move forward regardless of Fed, Otting says
"It isn't like we gave people a standing start to where we were going," the comptroller said, defending the shorter comment period. "We have been working for 18 months on this."
By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 22, 2020 -
OCC fines Citi $18M over flood insurance violations
The bank allowed an unnamed third-party servicer to extend the 45-day period for borrowers to get flood insurance, resulting in an "untimely" delay, according to a consent order.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 22, 2020 -
Cannabis, banking trade groups urge Crapo to advance SAFE Act
The letter to the Senate banking panel chair echoes arguments advocates have made for years: lack of access to financial services for marijuana-related businesses is a public safety issue.
By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 22, 2020 -
Deep DiveHSBC whistleblower says Iran sanctions could bring AML into sharper focus
"The laws that are about to come out of this ... are going to be unreal," says a private intelligence specialist whose alerts to the CIA nearly a decade ago resulted in a record fine.
By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 21, 2020 -
Citi narrows gender pay gap to 27% in second yearly report
The nation's third-largest bank is using the gulf between the raw and adjusted pay gap figures to call for more women and minorities to fill management roles.
By Dan Ennis • Jan. 16, 2020 -
4 banking trends to watch in 2020
M&A, climate change, fintech partnerships and challenger banks' experiments overseas are among the narratives Banking Dive expects to resurface throughout the year.
By Dan Ennis , Anna Hrushka • Jan. 16, 2020
