Regulations & Policy

Goldman CEO pushes to end remote-work 'aberration' sooner than later

"This is not ideal for us and it's not a new normal," he said, decrying a COVID-19 vaccine rollout that he called slower than expected.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 24, 2021

PPP changes get mixed reactions from banking industry

"Many lenders are questioning whether the two-week exclusive window for smallest businesses is truly necessary," one bank consultant said.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 24, 2021

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The Banking Dive Outlook on 2021

There are three ways to keep the narratives surrounding cryptocurrency, fair lending and the fight for racial equality in finance from losing steam.

By Banking Dive staff

JPMorgan announces trio of investments aimed at Black-owned banks, businesses

Google serves as an investor in JPMorgan's new class of money market shares to be distributed initially by four minority depository institutions. The bank also identified four institutions to which it is pledging $40 million in equity.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 24, 2021

Tether, crypto exchange Bitfinex to pay $18.5M to settle NY probe

Tether will give officials quarterly reports on its reserves and end trading with the state's residents in an agreement that ends a two-year investigation into allegations it hid the loss of $850 million in client and corporate money.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 24, 2021

New FDIC CIO: 'Technology is the best enabler of banking the unbanked'

"I think the vectors of success for dealing with the unbanked are going to be digital in nature," said Sultan Meghji, who worked on an aid mission to help implement digital banking in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 23, 2021

Fintech Brex applies for ILC charter

The FDIC has received more than a dozen deposit insurance applications from proposed ILCs since 2012, to the chagrin of a number of lawmakers and trade groups.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 22, 2021

Smallest businesses get exclusive 2-week PPP window, Biden admin says

The administration also announced changes to the way loans are calculated for businesses without employees, such as sole proprietors, independent contractors and the self-employed.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 22, 2021

M&T Bank to buy People's United in $7.6B all-stock deal

The transaction, expected to close in the fourth quarter, would create a bank with more than $205 billion in assets and provide an entryway for M&T into the Boston market.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 22, 2021

Fed's Brainard pushes banks to undergo climate 'scenario analysis'

The exercise wouldn't be a stress test, she said, adding banks that can't measure, monitor and manage climate-related risks could face outsized losses from environmental shifts and/or a poor transition to a low-carbon economy.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 19, 2021

Prior business relationships influence PPP coronavirus lending, study finds

Three-quarters of "relationship-borrowers" got a PPP loan, compared with 18% of "non-relationship firms," a study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, Boston College and the University of Geneva found.

By Jim Tyson • Feb. 18, 2021

Wells Fargo asset cap closer to ending as Fed reportedly OKs overhaul plan

The nation's fourth-largest bank has operated for three years under a $1.95 trillion asset cap set by the Federal Reserve in response to a 2016 fake-accounts scandal that has cost the bank billions of dollars in fines.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 18, 2021

Yes? No? Investment platform Kalshi will let users bet on event outcomes

Co-founder Tarek Mansour imagined the concept while interning at Goldman Sachs ahead of the Brexit vote. The company completed a $30 million funding round, aims to launch in March and has earned CFTC approval.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 18, 2021

Citi, Bank of America cut CEOs' compensation

Citi slashed outgoing CEO Michael Corbat's pay — and that of other executive management team members — over the risk management woes that led regulators to fine the bank $400 million in October.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 16, 2021

CFPB calls out companies that lag on complaint response

The bureau's efforts to repair relations with consumers and strengthen enforcement follow a move by the SEC to expand the authority to launch formal investigations.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 11, 2021

NYDFS pushes CRA credit for banks investing in climate projects

The state regulator laid out examples of energy-saving and flood mitigation projects its chief says could address environmental and social justice — and give financial institutions a perk.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 10, 2021

Robinhood faces wrongful-death lawsuit over 20-year-old trader's suicide

Since Alex Kearns's death in June, the company said it has added live voice support for some customers, revised some requirements for options traders and updated how it displays buying power.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 09, 2021

House lawmaker continues push to include cannabis banking in COVID relief bill

With Democrats now in control of the House and Senate, and a Democrat chairing the Senate Banking Committee, some industry observers said 2021 will be the year for SAFE Banking, in addition to broader pot legislation.

By Anna Hrushka • Feb. 05, 2021

FDIC fines Apple Bank $12.5M over AML violations

The bank failed to timely comply with a 2015 consent order requiring that it hire qualified compliance staff, conduct an AML risk assessment and develop internal controls for Bank Secrecy Act compliance, the regulator said.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 02, 2021

BMO to give employees 3 hours of paid time off to get COVID-19 vaccine

The Canadian bank will also pay for some costs tied to receiving the shots, such as administration fees not covered through public health plans or government agencies, CEO Darryl White said in a memo Monday.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 02, 2021

OCC halts controversial fair access rule

Pausing publication of the rule will allow the next confirmed comptroller to review it — along with the more than 35,000 public comments the OCC received, the regulator said Thursday.

By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 28, 2021

SBA outlines steps to improve PPP, reports $35B in approved loans

The agency said a review of first-draw loans identified data mismatches and eligibility concerns in about 4.7% of the lender-submitted data.

By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 27, 2021

Banks sync in lock-step over diverse hiring

Citi said it will require, effective this year, that at least two diverse candidates be interviewed for assistant vice president roles and above, up from one in previous years.

By Dan Ennis • Jan. 27, 2021

PPP portal glitch bungles second-draw loans, advocacy group says

The portal does not appear to allow lenders to upload a borrower's application for a second-draw loan if the forgiveness application for that borrower's first-draw loan is still pending, ABA President Rob Nichols wrote.

By Dan Ennis • Jan. 26, 2021

Raises at top 6 US banks average fraction of a percentage point

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's pay is standing pat, too. Meanwhile, Bank of America is offering $750 bonuses for employees making $100,000 or less, and Citi continues narrowing the wage gap.

By Dan Ennis • Jan. 22, 2021

Alternative credit data, fair lending may take focus under Biden

Among his first actions as president, Joe Biden signed an executive order to extend the pause on student loan payments through Sept. 30.

By Anna Hrushka • Jan. 21, 2021