Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: What is FedNow and its Role in the U.S. Payments System?
Regulators Tackle Board Effectiveness and Overdrafts
Convenience vs. Compliance: Behavior-Driven Marketing of Credit Products
Selling Your Mission to Shareholders
During the Biden presidency the prudential bank regulators and the DOJ began to prosecute cases of alleged redlining much more aggressively than had been historical practice. A key concept in almost all cases was the idea of...more
Recent congressional debate over the proposed CLARITY Act has highlighted a pivotal issue in stablecoin regulation: whether stablecoin issuers, or the exchanges and other third parties that distribute their tokens, should be...more
Even if you don't use the strategic plan option or are examined by FDIC or FRB you should read this - At first glance most bankers would think that the OCC’s proposed simplified CRA strategic plan process would not be of...more
The Community Reinvestment Act mandates that a bank meets the credit needs of the communities which it serves as delineated by its CRA assessment areas. The regulation has a simple test to address that issue. It's called the...more
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Reserve Board (collectively, the “Agencies”) have jointly issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) that, if...more
On November 25, 2025, the US federal banking regulators proposed changes to the community bank leverage ratio (“CBLR”) framework (the “Proposal”). The changes are intended to encourage additional community banks to opt into...more
Does it do the job? On December 17, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published proposed new guidance that is intended to streamline the process for a CRA-covered financial institution to obtain...more
On December 17, the OCC announced its proposed guidance introducing a “simplified strategic plan process” for community banks to comply with the CRA. The OCC stated that the new process aims to reduce regulatory burden and...more
On December 17, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) proposed new guidance that would significantly streamline how community banks elect to be evaluated under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) by providing a...more
There’s a lot of things in the world of bureaucratic regulations that don’t appear to make sense and can be downright funny and frustrating at times. For example, when I was in the state senate in Connecticut the Department...more
On November 28, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") issued a request for information ("RFI") on community banks' engagement with their core service providers and other essential third-party service...more
During a speech earlier this week, Comptroller of the Currency, Jonathan V. Gould addressed the House Committee on Financial Services regarding his agency’s “work implementing the President’s economic agenda by ensuring that...more
On November 24, the OCC announced a series of actions aimed at reducing regulatory burden and supporting the competitiveness of community banks. In three new bulletins, the agency: (i) released new Community Bank BSA/AML...more
On November 25, the Fed, OCC and FDIC issued a joint NPRM in the Federal Register to revise the community bank leverage ratio (CBLR) framework. The proposal would lower the CBLR requirement from 9 percent to 8 percent and...more
The OCC has announced changes to Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) examination procedures and data collection requirements applicable to community banks to reduce regulatory burdens. The policy changes are...more
On November 19, Fed Board of Governor Member Stephen Miran spoke on the Fed’s ongoing efforts to revise banking regulations, describing five principles to guide decision-making, such as balancing regulatory costs and...more
On November 19, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services reported it held a hearing to examine the federal deposit insurance framework, specifically the costs and benefits of recently proposed reforms. Members and...more
On November 20, the OCC announced enforcement actions taken during the month, noting that it issued no actions against banks. The agency reported two orders against individuals, including a prohibition order against a former...more
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently unveiled a series of regulatory reforms designed to reduce compliance burdens on community banks. These changes reflect a strategic pivot toward risk-based...more
On Oct. 6, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued five bulletins, which, taken together, represent significant and valuable regulatory relief for nationally chartered community banks and thrifts....more
On October 8, Fed Governor Michael Barr spoke on the central role of community banks in supporting families and small businesses, describing them as “indispensable” to the communities they serve. Barr emphasized that...more
On October 9, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent delivered remarks at a community bank conference noting the administration’s strategies to promote community banking and financial regulation. Bessent outlined how the...more
On October 6, the OCC announced five actions intended to reduce the regulatory burden on community banks. The actions included two bulletins revising examination procedures for community banks by (i) replacing fixed...more
On October 6, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced new guidance eliminating policy-based examination requirements for community banks that are not mandated by statute or regulation. Effective January...more
On October 6, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released three bulletins and two proposed rules directed at lessening the regulatory and supervisory burden on community banks (those with up to $30...more