The federal banking agencies continue to open the channels for regulated entities to engage in digital asset activities.
On May 7, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published Interpretive Letter...more
5/12/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Interpretive Letters ,
New Regulations ,
OCC ,
Outsourcing ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
Under its new acting chairman appointed by President Trump, the FDIC charges ahead with its new agenda by rolling back key Biden-era regulatory efforts.
On March 3, 2025, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)...more
The FDIC seeks to stick to its statutory mandate while reducing impediments to fintech, innovation, mergers, bank formation, and efficient supervision....more
In 2024, the U.S. federal bank regulators were extremely active, with initiatives ranging from antitrust and capital to proposals regarding controlling shareholders and incentive-based compensation. Climate issues and...more
12/23/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Basel III ,
Climate Change ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Strategic Planning ,
Trump Administration
On September 10, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Barr gave a speech (the Barr Speech) in which he outlined the principal changes to the federal banking agencies' 2023 proposal to implement the Basel Endgame (the...more
11/20/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Freddie Mac ,
Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) ,
Housing Developers ,
Mandatory Clearing Requirements ,
Mortgages ,
Renewable Energy ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Trade Associations
Regulators seek to provide clarity and transparency on the bank merger review process, but changes may increase application complexity and unpredictability.
Consistent with ongoing initiatives to strengthen US antitrust...more
The proposal would establish stricter oversight of certain transactions and responds to concerns that large asset managers may be exerting influence on FDIC-supervised institutions.
On July 30, 2024, the Board of...more
8/9/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Change in Control ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Depository Institutions ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
NPRM ,
OCC ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies
On July 19, 2024, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the National Credit Union Administration...more
8/5/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
Compliance ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management
OCC-supervised institutions with $100 billion or more in average total consolidated assets must be adequately prepared to mitigate severe financial and non-financial risks. ...more
Insured depository institutions with $50 billion to less than $100 billion in average total assets are subject to new resolution reporting standards, with enhanced reporting for those with average total assets of $100 billion...more
The Proposal clarifies the FDIC’s bank merger approval process but may prove challenging for new large bank consolidations with the FDIC as the primary regulator.
On March 21, 2024, the Board of Directors of the Federal...more
4/4/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Bank Merger Act ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FDIC ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Policy Statement ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Risk Assessment
A new program addresses innovative banking activities such as bank-fintech partnerships and digital assets while reinforcing guardrails around stablecoin activity.
On August 8, 2023, the Board of Governors of the Federal...more
8/16/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Compliance ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Programs ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
FRB ,
Risk-Based Approaches ,
Stablecoins
In contrast with the White House’s position, the Vice Chairman denied that loosened Dodd-Frank rules contributed to the recent bank failures.
On April 12, 2023, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Vice Chairman...more
4/20/2023
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EGRRCPA ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Insolvency ,
Interest Rates ,
Online Banking ,
Securities ,
Silicon Valley ,
Social Networks ,
Stress Tests ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury
President Biden is calling for tougher standards and supervision for large regional banks in the wake of recent instability in the US banking sector.
On March 30, 2023, the White House issued a Fact Sheet calling on the...more
4/4/2023
/ Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Deregulation ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
FRB ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Relief Measures ,
Trump Administration
The decisive action will mitigate emerging liquidity and solvency risks, contain pressure on the banking system, and protect depositors.
On March 12, 2023, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal...more
Custodia Bank was denied Federal Reserve membership, while certain crypto principal activities are deemed presumptively not appropriate for member banks.
On January 27, 2023, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve...more
The Guidance clarifies the regulator’s expectations on safekeeping customer digital assets, and the disclosures that must accompany such arrangements.
On January 23, 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services...more
2/3/2023
/ Banks ,
BitLicense ,
Cryptoassets ,
Custodians ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insolvency ,
New Guidance ,
NYDFS ,
Virtual Currency
The Acting Comptroller of the OCC discussed the limits of large bank manageability and the steps that regulators can take to address the risks posed by size and complexity.
On January 17, 2023, Acting Comptroller of the...more
The proposed modifications, if adopted, would amend the Volcker Rule in a manner consistent with the statutory amendments under the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.
The Economic Growth,...more
The Federal Reserve today extended the Volcker Rule conformance period for legacy covered funds from July 21, 2015 to July 21, 2016, and also granted a further one year extension until July 21, 2017.
At 3 pm today...more
On December 10, 2013 the US federal banking agencies, along with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (collectively, the Agencies), adopted the ...more