Trump administration

Guidance documents from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network heightening bank scrutiny of individual tax identification numbers in mortgage applications could discourage banks from issuing those kinds of loans.

The newly minted Fed chairman announced working groups for his five top policy priorities and strictly refrained from forward guidance in his debut press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Newly minted Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will host his inaugural press conference on Wednesday. Bankers will be paying close attention to what he says — and how he says it.

Banking Committee Democrats warned that the Trump administration's failure to nominate Democrats to vacancies at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Securities and Exchange Commission and National Credit Union Administration threatens the bipartisan structure Congress established for financial regulators.

Mortgage industry participants say Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte's new role as acting director of national intelligence could imperil progress on a potential initial public offering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte won the White House's favor by acting as an attack dog for the administration, using his agency's data to target President Trump's political enemies with fraud allegations, though those efforts have not withstood judicial scrutiny.

President Donald Trump administered Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's oath of office in a ceremony Friday morning. Warsh is expected to pursue changes at the central bank, including a push to reduce its $6.7 billion balance sheet. 

The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Kevin Warsh to lead the central bank. Warsh will take the reins from Jerome Powell, who said he will remain on the Federal Reserve Board.

Market watchers say that the economy as a whole is holding up under higher energy prices and do not expect a recession. Even so, observers are watching financial markets and consumer spending for signs that inflation expectations are taking hold.

The new law, which will mandate the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve or deny loan applications within 30 days, passed with wide bipartisan support.

Market watchers think Jerome Powell will maintain a low-key presence on the Fed board as he awaits the release of an inspector general report examining cost overruns at the central bank's headquarters.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told reporters Wednesday that he would remain on the Fed board after his term as chair expires next month, resolving the last and most significant open question about his departure and the onset of Kevin Warsh's leadership at the central bank.

Kevin Warsh's nomination to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve passed through the Senate Banking committee in a party-line vote.

The Federal Open Market Committee's April meeting — likely Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's last — is unanimously expected to keep interest rates steady, but questions about energy, inflation and the upcoming transition in leadership still loom.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said on Sunday that he no longer opposes Kevin Warsh's nomination to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve following the Justice Department's announced closure of its inquiry into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Fintech firm IntraFi's most recent quarterly survey of bank executives showed rising pessimism among bankers related to "instability in Washington," as well as growing concerns about technology-enabled fraud.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a social media post Friday morning that the Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, clearing a path for Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Powell's replacement.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday defended cuts to the Community Development Financial Institution Fund in the president's 2027 budget, telling the Senate Appropriations Committee that the program had pursued a "partisan wish list."

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, denied that he would act as Trump's "sock puppet" if he's confirmed and said the president has directed him to lower interest rates.

The former Fed governor's upcoming confirmation hearing will test whether he can satisfy both a president demanding lower rates and a Congress demanding independence.