Regulation

The industry-led legal challenge to new anti-redlining rules is opposed by some banks and consumer protection groups, who say the changes are necessary.

Four companies are fighting CFPB enforcement actions by claiming the agency cannot be funded by the Federal Reserve, which has not been profitable since 2022. The consumer bureau calls the new legal theory "meritless."

Regulators have been working their way steadily down from the biggest players in the industry to regional firms in their quest to stamp out abuses of "off-channel" communications.

Beneficial State Bank — which was joined by various civil rights groups — said in an amicus brief that the regulatory reforms are much-needed and that banking groups' legal challenge to the Community Reinvestment Act rules should be dismissed.

Researchers wonder if similar regulatory attention could eventually hit the bottom lines of independent broker-dealers and RIAs.

The guidance largely matches last summer's proposal, with clarifications around least-cost determinations, foreign bank resolutions and resolution strategies. Regulators also gave banks more time to file their living wills under the new framework.

The Biden Administration firmly rejects proposed cuts to key financial oversight and consumer protection agencies in the Republican-backed financial services appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025.

The court didn't rule on the merits of any regulation, but made it much easier to challenge rules governing banking.

The trade groups said Friday that a proposed rule from CISA would burden firms with overly broad reporting requirements as they scramble to respond to incidents.

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.