Financial institutions

A cohort of more than 100 Republican members of Congress sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the administration to protect and fund a community lending program that has been gutted despite its legal mandate and Bessent's backing.

Six trade groups warned the administration layoffs and funding freezes could dampen lending, threatening the administration's goal of economic growth.

The Office of Management and Budget issued reduction in force notices to Treasury staff working in the Community Development Financial Institution office Friday, saying that the layoffs are necessary to "implement the abolishment" of the fund.

The CDFI Fund is updating definitions of eligible activity to be considered for the funds, including removing climate-focused financing and references to race and ethnicity.

A proposed rule published Tuesday in the Federal Register would limit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability to designate nonbank entities for supervision.

The Office of Management and Budget under President Donald Trump has not apportioned any discretionary awards to financial institutions in the fiscal year of 2025, according to new documents released by the agency.

The CDFI Fund has yet to announce and disburse awards for five programs, even though applications closed months ago, the lawmakers said in a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.

Calls for applications for a bank-specific program within the Community Development Financial Institution Fund have been delayed, raising the possibility that those funds are unspent before the appropriated money expires.

The group expressed concern with the White House proposal to reduce the program's funding, and urged Appropriators to fund the bipartisan-backed Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

A non-bank lender won't ever compete with a bank on price, but can offer flexible underwriting and faster origination times, according to a veteran originator.

The lender's former chief of staff alleged the non-QM lender misrepresented loan characteristics to investors and regulators, charges which were never proven.

President Donald Trump's proposed budget would nix funding for Community Development Financial Institutions in minority-heavy areas while expanding it for rural areas.

House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., led a group of Democrats in challenging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the current state of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it will not enforce or supervise nonbank financial firms that miss upcoming compliance deadlines for the nonbank registry of repeat offenders.

The Treasury Department told the OMB that all 11 programs in the CDFI Fund are statutorily mandated. The White House said "no final decisions have been made" about the programs.

The bipartisan co-chairs of the Community Financial Development Institution caucus sent a letter urging the Trump administration to continue supporting the CDFI Fund after it was slated for cuts in a recent executive order.

President Donald Trump's executive order severely limiting the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institution Fund has thrown the industry into confusion as financial companies try to quantify the damage.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's nonbank registry to address repeat corporate offenders goes live this week, but some experts have raised concerns about redundancy and costs for nonbanks.

The sale of the $318 million-asset portfolio comes five weeks after the Greenville, South Carolina-based company agreed to sell its investment advisory unit.

The Cleveland-based regional bank continues to benefit from strength in investment banking, though concerns about stalled loan growth emerged as CEO Chris Gorman described demand as tepid.