In light of ongoing litigation and the Trump administration’s new policy approach, federal banking agencies intend to rescind the 2023 CRA final rule and revert to pre-2023 standards.
By Betty M. Huber, Arthur S. Long, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
On March 28, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the Agencies) announced that they intend
Under its new acting chairman appointed by President Trump, the FDIC charges ahead with its new agenda by rolling back key Biden-era regulatory efforts.
By Arthur S. Long, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
On March 3, 2025, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that its Board of Directors1 voted to rescind the agency’s 2024 Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions and withdraw four other Biden-era proposals.
The sweeping purge effectuates Acting Chairman Travis Hill’s top
The FDIC seeks to stick to its statutory mandate while reducing impediments to fintech, innovation, mergers, bank formation, and efficient supervision.
By Arthur S. Long, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
Just one day after being named acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Travis Hill revealed an agenda of priorities for the FDIC. Hill previewed many of the priorities during his January 10, 2025, remarks on FDIC policy issues at the American Bar Association (ABA), where
Regulators seek to provide clarity and transparency on the bank merger review process, but changes may increase application complexity and unpredictability.
By Arthur S. Long, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
Consistent with ongoing initiatives to strengthen US antitrust regulation,1 the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced changes that may reshape the landscape of bank mergers. These updated rules, policies, and guidelines
The proposal would establish stricter oversight of certain transactions and responds to concerns that large asset managers may be exerting influence on FDIC-supervised institutions.
By Arthur S. Long, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
On July 30, 2024, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend the agency’s regulations under the Change in Bank Control Act1 (the Proposal)2. The Proposal would require advance notice to
The proposal seeks to enhance Bank Secrecy Act compliance by aligning the agencies’ AML/CFT program requirements for banks with FinCEN’s requirements.
By Arthur S. Long, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
On July 19, 2024, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) (collectively, the Agencies) issued a joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Proposed
The proposal seeks to make executive compensation arrangements more sensitive to risk and would require complex risk management programs to ensure compliance.
By Arthur S. Long, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
On May 6, 2024, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) (collectively, the agencies) issued a joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Proposed Rule) to curb “excessive risk-taking” resulting from incentive-based compensation arrangements. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did not join in the Proposed Rule.[1],[2] Critically, without the FRB’s participation, the Proposed Rule may not be finalized.
The Proposed Rule seeks to curtail incentives for certain financial services sector officers, employees, and directors to take inappropriate risks as a result of seeking excessive compensation, fees, or benefits. It uses a tiered approach based on asset size categories, where covered institutions (defined below) within the two largest asset size categories would be subject to prescriptive requirements related to the structure of their incentive-based compensation arrangements, including incentive award limits, deferral requirements, downward adjustments, forfeitures, and clawbacks.
The Proposed Rule re-proposes the regulatory text previously proposed in June 2016 (with a new preamble that acknowledges developments and supervisory learnings) and seeks additional feedback from commenters on potential alternatives to various provisions.
With regulators keeping close watch, the results underscore the need for ongoing climate risk management investment and adaptation within the financial sector.
By Betty M. Huber, Arthur S. Long, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
On May 9, 2024, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) published summary results of a pilot climate scenario analysis (CSA) that explored how resilient six of the largest US bank holding companies (by total assets) are to climate-related financial risks. The analysis is intended to help the FRB “learn about large banking organizations’ climate risk-management practices and challenges and to enhance the ability of large banking organizations and supervisors to identify, estimate, monitor, and manage climate-related financial risks.”
The CSA was first announced in September 2022, and was intended as an exploratory exercise. It does not therefore result in any capital or supervisory consequences for the participating financial institutions.
Banking agencies are alleged to have exceeded their congressional authorization, with potentially adverse consequences on banks and consumers.
By Arthur S. Long, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
On February 5, 2024, several banking trade groups[1] (the Plaintiffs) sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the Agencies) in the US District Court for the Northern District
A recent bipartisan bill, if enacted, would particularly benefit small lenders and bank-fintech partnerships by promoting transparency, appellate rights, and examiner accountability.
By Arthur S. Long, Parag Patel, Barrie VanBrackle, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
On December 14, 2023, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Fair Audits and Inspections for Regulators’ Exams Act (FAIR Exams Act), which seeks to increase transparency in the bank examination process. The proposed legislation would require examining agencies to act quickly and transparently, while creating an independent review and appeals process under the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC),[1] which would allow banks to seek independent review of material examiner findings.