The FDIC approved deposit insurance for Stellantis Bank USA on May 14, a proposed Utah-based industrial bank that will primarily finance Stellantis vehicle purchases. The approval follows earlier FDIC clearances for General Motors and Ford industrial banks earlier in 2026. With all three Detroit automakers now holding or pursuing federally
May was a landmark month for crypto market structure legislation. The Senate Banking Committee advanced the Clarity Act on May 14 by a 15-7 vote, with two Democrats — Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (Md.) and Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) — crossing party lines. Both made clear their floor votes are contingent on
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra as his pick to head the state’s newly reorganized Business and Consumer Services Agency, a cabinet-level umbrella effective July 1. BCSA will house the state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (California’s own consumer financial protection agency), as well as
In early May, Sens. Alsobrooks and Tillis unveiled bipartisan draft language intended to resolve the yield standoff between banks and fintechs that has stalled the Clarity Act. The six-page proposal would prohibit crypto firms from paying stablecoin holders interest or yield “solely in connection with the holding” of a stablecoin,
April 2026 brought continued momentum in deregulation: finalized capital relief, a scaled-back small business data rule, reduced CFPB enforcement capacity, and rescinded NSF fee guidance, alongside rapid movement on stablecoin regulation from virtually every federal agency simultaneously. For community banks, the consistent theme is a regulatory environment that is reducing
The CFPB asked the D.C. Circuit in early April to allow it to proceed with a new restructuring plan that would reduce the agency to 556 employees — a reduction of more than 50% from current levels — and argued this revised plan moots the lower court injunction that has
On April 30, the CFPB finalized a significantly pared-down version of its Section 1071 small business loan data collection rule. The rule — which implements a Dodd-Frank Act mandate to collect data on small business credit applications to aid antidiscrimination oversight — was substantially rewritten from the 2023 Biden-era version
Fintech company Mercury received conditional approval from the OCC to establish Mercury Bank NA, a national bank targeted at founders and startups. The company plans to offer Zelle payments, expanded lending, and direct payment infrastructure once the charter is finalized. Mercury still needs FDIC deposit insurance approval and Federal Reserve
The FDIC’s 2025 consumer compliance supervisory report recorded only 1,155 level 2 and level 3 regulatory violations — a seven-year low. Enforcement actions also dropped sharply, with the agency initiating 16 formal and 11 informal actions, compared to 31 formal and 23 informal in 2024. The most frequently cited violations
Federal regulators finalized the reduction of the community bank leverage ratio (CBLR) from 9% to 8%, effective July 1. The rule was adopted without dissent by the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC. The agencies project that roughly 480 more banks will now qualify for the CBLR framework, expanding eligibility to
