Regulation

It's in financial institutions' best interest to treat increasingly popular cryptocurrency assets the same as other financial assets held by their customers. And regulators must foster a safe environment for these assets by focusing on real risks like money laundering and terrorism finance.

The Federal Reserve's Randal Quarles, in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, sought to fend off criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren that the central bank treated with kid gloves some foreign banks under its jurisdiction that later took heavy losses. The hearing also featured a discussion about a new framework for digital assets.

The White House directive may lead regulators to develop new mortgage underwriting standards, stress-test requirements and flood insurance policy, observers said.

The Massachusetts bank, which traditionally In contrast to its typical strategy of supporting low-income housing, the invested $500,000 in CEI Ventures’ Coastal Ventures V fund to support small businesses in disadvantaged communities.

The agency said it will reconsider the controversial regulation to reform the Community Reinvestment Act, and allow banks to halt efforts to comply with key provisions of the framework.

The biggest U.S. banks criticized a pair of proposals designed to help consumers who don’t use their services.

The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation has tapped Christina Tetreault as the head of the newly created Office of Financial Technology and Innovation.

Financial institutions said they needed more time to weigh in on issues such as how they use artificial intelligence for fraud prevention and underwriting.

During the pandemic-induced lockdowns, the Federal Reserve loosened a rule requiring banks to cap certain savings withdrawals at six per month. Some banks have since dropped ceilings and associated fees, while others have stood pat.

Binance Holdings Ltd. is under investigation by the Justice Department and IRS, ensnaring the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange in U.S. efforts to root out illicit activity that’s thrived in the red-hot but mostly unregulated market.