Regulation and compliance

With tougher capital requirements looming, a number of regionals including U.S. Bancorp, Huntington and Santander are using these new instruments to share risk with nonbank investors and lighten their capital load. Experts point out the pros and cons.

Bank regulators Friday said the existing laws governing safety and soundness and fair lending are adequate to address risks posed by artificial intelligence, noting that while AI may be used to inform lending decisions, banks are ultimately responsible for compliance.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's annual student banking report reveals that college-endorsed financial products, including credit cards and student ID-linked deposit accounts, often impose high fees and unfavorable terms, reinforcing the CFPB's ongoing scrutiny of potential violations of federal consumer financial protection laws.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered U.S. Bank to pay about $21 million for its prepaid debit card program for government benefits, while the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a $15 million fine over similar violations.

The Ohio Democrat is pressuring the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo to proactively provide financial benefits to active-duty service members. Those protections are enshrined in a 2003 law, but many service members do not seek them out.

While mortgage assumptions are on the rise, so too are complaints leveled against mortgage servicers for how they handle the loans. A common refrain is that the companies are moving too slowly.

Proposed capital rules aimed at bigger institutions will force regional and larger community banks to consider ways to grow or seek an exit strategy, bankers and analysts predict.