Regulation

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a proposal mandating banks enhance their anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism financing programs, including measures to address fentanyl trafficking and Russian money laundering.

Large and regional banks again proved their resiliency in the Fed's annual exams. But analysts noted that a few lenders faced some negative surprises — a development that may scuttle investor hopes for share buybacks by those banks.

The Federal Reserve attributes the uptick in simulated losses in this year's stress test examination to heightened risks on bank balance sheets and higher expense levels. Credit cards and corporate lending were top areas of concern for the central bank.

Four large banks were dinged in their resolution plan reviews for shortcomings in their plans to unwind their derivatives positions in times of stress. But whether the problem is with the banks' plans or the regulators' expectations for a legally ambiguous product is a matter of debate.

A plan reportedly being floated by the Federal Reserve would reduce the top-line capital raise for the biggest banks by as little as 5% — down from 16% in the original proposal from last July.

The co-funder and CEO of Minerva, a regulation technology platform, is one of American Banker's 2024 Most Influential Women in Fintech.

The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. found shortcomings in the living wills of Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, although the FDIC deemed Citi's resolution plan as "deficient."

The FDIC board Thursday approved stricter resolution plans for larger banks and introduced a new bipartisan procedure to expedite merger application reviews.

Economic downturns are inevitable, but regulatory overreaction to them shouldn't be. We need to rethink the way banks are allowed to recover from economic shocks.

A report on efforts to deconflict federal cybersecurity regulations found the Treasury in particular has not completed its recommendations.