Stress tests

Some observers said the central bank should have suspended dividends entirely in response to an unprecedented economic emergency caused by the pandemic. Others said its more cautious moves were appropriate because big banks' capital is strong and the economy could bounce back.

In the most sweeping capital distribution order since the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve says it will prohibit big banks from buying back their stock in the third quarter and limit dividend payments to second-quarter levels.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed a plan that would exempt the Federal Home Loan Banks from conducting stress tests.

Tighter mortgage regulations are making Canada's housing market less risky, according to the government agency responsible for its oversight.

Ginnie Mae's stress testing model was based on large issuers, and does not appear to adequately reflect important qualitative differences between larger and smaller issuers.

The regulators have yet to complete rules on regional bank supervision, community bank capital and other provisions meant to ease institutions' burden.

The combined bank will move into a more demanding supervisory class under the Fed’s regime, but analysts also see a regulatory upside from the deal.

A top official at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions defended tougher underwriting rules blamed recently for a slump in the nation’s housing market, but left open the possibility that regulations could ease if conditions change.

The mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have to draw as much as $78 billion in the event of a serious economic crisis, according to stress test results released Tuesday by the housing regulator.

The federal bank regulators are considering roughly a dozen new rulemakings in response to the bill rolling back certain sections of Dodd-Frank.

The biggest legacy of the current regulatory relief effort may be the increasing focus on whether organizing banks in supervisory buckets by asset size makes sense. Yet the bill deals with just one of the two big asset thresholds in the law.

While regulatory relief legislation would raise the asset threshold for “systemically important” banks, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank could still apply prudential scrutiny to banks below that new cutoff.

The Senate is poised to pass the most substantial bank regulatory relief since the crisis, but any disruption of the post-crisis regime is still eclipsed by how much the bill enshrines Dodd-Frank.

House Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said House lawmakers are having discussions with the Senate about ways to go further on rolling back Dodd-Frank before the Senate is expected to hold a floor vote.

President Trump’s pick to head the Federal Reserve will face the Senate Banking Committee this week. Here’s what to watch for.

During his time as Fed governor, chair-designate Jerome Powell has outlined his views on a host of bank regulatory matters, including the need for regulatory relief, the push for housing finance reform, blockchain and much more.

Financial regulation is too complex and needs to be retooled to improve access to credit, President Trump’s nominees to two top banking regulators told Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Some believe that increased bank regulation is to blame for overall slower growth in commercial and industrial loans. Yet that assessment misses some important details.

In his annual letter to shareholders, M&T Bank chief Robert Wilmers laid out in compelling detail how government policies intended to protect American families have ultimately stymied economic growth.

As banking leaders gain a more substantial policymaking role, they will have a greater impact if they stake out a clear position in favor of regulations that protect investors and depositors.