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Marijuana banking

Crapo's buzzkill, CFPB fair lending, Waters targets Wells: Top stories of the week

December 20, 2019 2:56 PM

Sen. Mike Crapo delivers a crushing blow to pot banking efforts; the CFPB draws notice for its lack of fair lending enforcement; Rep. Maxine Waters says she will call on Wells Fargo board to testify next year; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Crapo delivers crushing blow to pot banking

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo
Senator Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, makes an opening statement during a hearing with Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, not pictured, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, July 11, 2019. Powell said yesterday that downside risks to the economy remain with trade wars softening business investment and weak inflation, signaling that policy makers may be poised to cut interest rates as soon as this month. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The Senate Banking Committee chairman said he opposed a House bill that would give financial institutions legal cover to serve cannabis businesses.

(Full story here.)

Reactions to CRA plan signal long fight ahead

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
A pedestrian passes the seal of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) at the headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. The OCC this week fined Citibank $25 million for failing to offer some existing customers lower interest rates on mortgages or closing cost discounts that they were entitled to under a program for borrowers with a relationship with the bank. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
While the banking industry has applauded regulators’ effort, community groups say the proposal needs to be reworked or it will hurt those the law was meant to help.

(Full story here.)

Wells Fargo adds ex-Comerica CFO in latest outside hire

Signage displayed at a Wells Fargo bank branch in New York.
Muneera Carr, who will become the San Francisco bank's controller on Jan. 6, is the newest addition to a team being assembled by CEO Charlie Scharf.

(Full story here.)

Where have all the CFPB fair-lending cases gone?

AB-121619-CFPB
Despite assurances by Director Kathy Kraninger that the agency is cracking down on discrimination, it hasn't sent a Department of Justice referral on a fair-lending violation in two years.

(Full story here.)

Why TD Bank wants to read its customers' moods

John Thomas, EVP and global innovation head, TD Bank Group
It's no longer enough to conduct traditional demographic analysis of customers. TD bank wants to know what is going on with individual consumers at any given moment and respond accordingly.

(Full story here.)

Green Dot CEO, a prepaid card pioneer, to step down Dec. 31

Steve Streit, Green Dot's chief executive
Steve Streit, Green Dot's chief executive.
Steve Streit is retiring as part of a shakeup in the firm's management ranks. The Pasadena, Calif.-based company that he founded in 1999 has been suffering amid new competition from challenger banks.

(Full story here.)

Regulators find 'shortcomings' in living wills of six large banks

Federal Reserve building
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building stands in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
Bloomberg News
The Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. found issues with the firms' ability to compile data on how they would be unwound during a period of financial stress.

(Full story here.)

Waters will call Wells Fargo's board members to testify in 2020

Rep. Maxine Waters
Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California and chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, listens during a hearing with Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, not pictured, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. Mnuchin said he and the Federal Reserve Chairman dont expect the U.S. to create a digital currency. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters said oversight of the bank will be a focus for the panel next year.

(Full story here.)

Pot banking backers stand firm in face of Crapo's opposition

Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.
Senator Cory Gardner, a Republican from Colorado, gives an opening statement in support of David Bernhardt, U.S. secretary of interior nominee for U.S. President Donald Trump, not pictured, at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, March 28, 2019. Acting Interior Secretary Bernhardts Senate confirmation hearing to become permanent secretary will likely be full of partisan sparring over his oil and gas industry ties, and spotlight recent revelations on his efforts to block a report on pesticide risks. Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Bloomberg
Anna Moneymaker/Bloomberg
After Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo poured cold water on legislation enabling banks and credit unions to serve the marijuana industry, several key supporters of the effort are pushing back.

(Full story here.)

'Out of the shadows': Use of alternative data in lending gains ground

Marc Butterfield, senior vice president, First National Bank of Omaha
Financial regulators’ statement cautiously encouraging lenders to go beyond traditional underwriting in their lending decisions is a big step forward for the use of alternative data and artificial intelligence, bankers say.

(Full story here.)
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