The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair on May 13, on a 54-45 vote that fell almost entirely along party lines (only Sen. John Fetterman crossed over). Warsh — a former Fed governor, lawyer, and financier — took over from Jerome Powell when Powell’s term as
The OCC issued a consent order against Community Federal Savings Bank for BSA/AML deficiencies tied to its rapid expansion into payment processing. The bank’s automated alert system used filtering thresholds not tuned to its risk profile, its customer due diligence program failed to understand certain customers’ businesses, and its internal
The Federal Reserve proposed a new “payment account” that would allow fintechs, stablecoin issuers, and other nonbank institutions to access Fed payment rails directly, bypassing traditional bank intermediaries. The accounts would provide access to Fedwire and FedNow but exclude FedACH, prohibit overdrafts and discount window borrowing, and cap closing balances
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council formally proposed revisions to the Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System (UFIRS) — the CAMELS framework — in late May, following months of public previews from Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman. The proposal is the first major update to the CAMELS system in
On May 19, President Trump signed two executive orders with direct banking implications. The first directs Treasury Secretary Bessent and financial regulators to review legal and regulatory frameworks governing Fed payment account access for uninsured depository institutions and fintech companies — timing that landed one day before the Fed’s own
The 60-day comment period on the OCC’s 376-page Genius Act implementation proposal closed in early May. The OCC’s proposal covers stablecoin issuance, redemption, reserve management, custody standards, and yield restrictions for the issuers under its oversight, which includes national bank-owned issuers, federally licensed nonbanks, larger state-chartered issuers, and foreign issuers
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,
