OCC to cut smallest banks’ assessment fees by 40%

The move, effective in March 2023 and applying to a bank’s first $200 million in assets, marks the regulator’s fourth fee cut in as many years.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 2, 2022

OCC orders Blue Ridge Bank to bolster fintech partnership oversight

The bank must obtain the regulator’s non-objection before signing on with any new fintech partners or adding new products through existing partners.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 2, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Fraud and AML in banking

The past year has been one of reckoning with regard to fraud — from TD’s $3 billion AML penalty to the continuing punitive phase connected to PPP misdeeds, crypto bankruptcies and pig butchering.

By Banking Dive staff

Fed ends 2012 AML enforcement action against HSBC

The London-based bank had been under the order since December 2012 after the Justice Department identified “stunning failures of oversight.”

By Anna Hrushka • Sept. 2, 2022

Even the anti-Goldman wants more employees in the office

Longtime remote-work advocate Jefferies asked for "everyone back in our offices on a consistent basis" as long as COVID stays "manageable" — but still took a swipe at Goldman in a recent memo.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 2, 2022

Average overdraft fee falls nearly $4, to lowest level since 2009

ATM fees, however, jumped to a three-year high of $4.66 per transaction, according to a Bankrate study, which also found users needed record or near-record-high balances to avoid monthly service charges.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 1, 2022

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley drop vaccine requirements

In a memo seen as a Labor Day office-return rally cry, Goldman cited new CDC guidance and the reduced risk of severe illness from COVID-19 as reasoning for the change, which doesn’t apply to New York City-based employees.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 31, 2022

Trade groups clap back at Warren’s call to rescind crypto guidance

The crypto winter is "wholly unrelated" to banks’ involvement in OCC-approved activities, the Bank Policy Institute and the American Bankers Association wrote. But further clarity is crucial.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Aug. 31, 2022

Advocates seize on TD-First Horizon deal in rejection plea

Twelve groups led by the Center for Responsible Lending wrote OCC and Fed officials, urging them to quash the merger on overdraft and market concerns.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 30, 2022

Ford ILC application gets pushback from ICBA, consumer groups

In a joint letter to the FDIC, four groups called the car maker’s bid to use the charter to promote the electrification of its vehicle fleet disingenuous, while the ICBA said the ILC charter exploits a regulatory loophole.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 30, 2022

Green Dot helps Secret Service recover $286M in stolen COVID relief

Scammers gained access to Economic Injury Disaster Loans by creating 15,325 accounts through the digital bank. Green Dot and PayPal helped the Secret Service recover more than $400 million in December.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 29, 2022

Allegiance, CBTX extend merger timeline, wait for Fed

Merger approvals have lagged over the past two years amid COVID-19 challenges and a shortage of governors at the central bank. The Fed is fully staffed now, but tie-ups still seem slow to close.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 29, 2022

3 takeaways from Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech

The central bank chief hinted at continued aggressive interest-rate hikes, said "some" economic pain now was preferable to more of it later, and invoked his forebears in a warning about expectations.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 26, 2022

Texas may have singled out BlackRock, paper trail suggests

The lieutenant governor asked for BlackRock to be put on a divestment list before the state began its probe. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs appeared on a previous draft.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 26, 2022

BlackRock, BNP Paribas, UBS, Credit Suisse named to Texas ‘boycott’ list

The state’s comptroller sent inquiries to 150 companies in March and April based on their energy-related policies and recent actions. State pension funds have 30 days to report their holdings with the listed companies.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 25, 2022

Time runs short for Congress’ leading anti-overdraft advocate

Rep. Carolyn Maloney's defeat in a primary Tuesday leaves lawmakers four months to rally support for a perennial measure to rein in banking fees.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 24, 2022

Bank of America, RBC aim for ‘balance,’ whether leaning on data or emotion

Two banks' messaging, on overdraft and office returns, could hardly be more different. One relies on statistics, another has no specifics. Yet they have one word in common.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 23, 2022

FDIC orders FTX, 4 other crypto firms to halt ‘false and misleading’ claims

Brett Harrison, FTX’s president, responded on Twitter, saying the company “really didn’t mean to mislead anyone.” The FDIC cited a deleted tweet from Harrison in its letter to the company.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 22, 2022

GreenState scraps acquisition of Nebraska bank after judge denies appeal

“We are still coming to Nebraska. This simply pushes our timetable back a year,” the credit union’s CEO said, adding it may expand into Omaha organically.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 22, 2022

Citi fined $14.8M over faulty trade monitoring

The bank had almost no oversight into the second-most serious category of risks on nearly half of trades during an 18-month span, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority said.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 19, 2022

TD faces community advocates’ concerns over First Horizon deal

TD touted its recent efforts to boost nonwhite homeownership and small businesses, as advocates spotlighted the bank's mortgage lending record.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 19, 2022

Toomey grills FDIC on potential overreach in bank-crypto ties

The Pennsylvania Republican asked for more information about reports that employees from the agency’s headquarters asked regional staff to send letters to banks discouraging their relationships with crypto companies.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 18, 2022

Fed puts onus on banks to check legality of crypto ventures

Like the FDIC, the central bank urges banks to notify the regulator before starting crypto activity. But unlike the OCC, the Fed doesn't detail what is permissible under law.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 17, 2022

SEC, Fed fine EagleBank $22.9M, ban ex-CEO over insider lending

EagleBank had deficient internal controls between 2015 and 2018, allowing the bank to lend to entities its then-CEO owned or controlled, including certain family trusts, the Fed said.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 17, 2022

Fed master account guidance includes tiered review framework

Firms that lack deposit insurance or traditional regulatory frameworks would undergo the highest level of scrutiny, while companies with federal deposit insurance would be subject to a “streamlined” process.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 16, 2022

CFPB urges up-to-date data safeguards for finance firms

The agency suggested companies embrace multifactor authentication, password management and timely software updates to avoid violating federal consumer protection laws.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 15, 2022