The CFPB finalized a rule on April 23 that eliminates disparate-impact liability from its regulations under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B). The rule removes the longstanding effects-based standard, under which a lending practice that is neutral on its face could be deemed discriminatory based on statistical outcomes without
The Federal Reserve issued a consent order against Community Bankshares Inc., a Georgia holding company, ordering it to stop paying dividends, halt share repurchases, and refrain from taking on new debt without prior regulatory approval. The action followed a January 2026 examination by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta that
FinCEN and OFAC issued a joint proposed rule implementing anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance requirements under the Genius Act. Permitted payment stablecoin issuers would be treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and would need to establish risk-based AML/CFT programs, file SARs, block impermissible transactions, and maintain records
FDIC Chairman Travis Hill announced the agency will propose expressly excluding payment stablecoins from pass-through insurance coverage. Hill argued that extending pass-through coverage would be inconsistent with the GENIUS Act’s directive that tokens not be “subject to deposit insurance” or marketed as federally guaranteed. What you should do: This is good
The White House Council of Economic Advisers published a report arguing that banning stablecoin yield would do little to protect bank lending — estimating only a $2.1 billion increase in bank lending under baseline assumptions — while imposing a net welfare cost to consumers. The report supports the crypto industry’s
The Treasury issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking proposing that state stablecoin regulatory regimes must be “substantially similar” to the federal framework, meaning they must meet or exceed both the Genius Act’s statutory requirements and the OCC’s implementing regulations. Smaller issuers (under $10 billion) may be supervised by qualifying
Last month brought significant movement across stablecoin regulation, capital rules, merger policy, and litigation. For community banks, the common thread is a regulatory environment that is simultaneously opening doors (trust charters, capital relief, merger flexibility) while raising competitive questions (non-bank Fed access, stablecoin yield, and evolving payment technologies). The institutions
The OCC finalized the repeal of its recovery planning guidelines, which required large banks to maintain detailed playbooks for financial stress scenarios. The agency concluded that “prescriptive planning activities do little to improve their ability to manage through stress.” While this applies primarily to banks over $100 billion, it signals
Speaking to the Consumer Bankers Association’s annual conference, Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman announced the Fed will revisit Regulation O, which governs loans to bank insiders. The decades-old rule caps lending to executive officers at $100,000 per person—a threshold that has not kept pace with inflation. Banks have called for
The Treasury Department published a report to Congress on stablecoin use and compliance, highlighting artificial intelligence as an important compliance tool, and committing to guidance on verifiable digital credentials for customer identification. The Treasury also said it will work with Congress on legislation promoting digital identity verification and a safe
