Regulation

The decision is seen as a setback for the banking industry, which had been pushing for an extension, and a win for Democrats, who have argued that a pandemic is no time for banks to be shedding capital.

The Federal Reserve will determine within days whether to extend the easing of the supplementary leverage ratio for big banks past March 31, Chairman Jerome Powell says. And it's a couple of weeks away from announcing whether there will be limits on second-quarter dividends and buybacks, he says.

The proposed legislation is similar to a package put forward in 2020 and another introduced in the House in 2019.

The Senate Banking Committee is questioning whether Goldman Sachs Group paid dividends at the expense of lending to businesses and households during the pandemic as lawmakers take a broad look at the support big banks offered clients to get through the economic slump.

Lawmakers this week will continue to discuss extending the Paycheck Protection Program, and the National Credit Union Administration is scheduled to hold its monthly board meeting.

With a steady stream of Senate hearings held on the racial wealth gap and inequities in the financial system, the new chairman has set a consumer-focused agenda that leans further left than even past Democratic chairs.

The Cleveland company is more than doubling an earlier commitment in order to support racial equity and environmental sustainability.

In its final days, the Trump administration imposed limits on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s holdings of mortgages with loan-to-value ratios above 90% and certain other characteristics. Critics say the changes were unnecessary and disproportionately penalize borrowers of color.

The legislation would extend the Paycheck Protection Program for two months and give the Small Business Administration more time to remedy persistent system glitches that have delayed the processing of thousands of loan applications.

The bill introduced by Rep. Patrick McHenry, the top Republican on the Financial Services Committee, would expand CFPB authority to the credit reporting industry and require that certain adverse information be removed from a consumer’s credit history.