The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has issued an interim final rule that restores streamlined and expedited regulatory procedures to review applications under the Bank Merger Act for business combinations...more
While tariff policy has captured headlines, four recent regulatory reform policy developments are nevertheless significant for the financial services industry. These developments are tied to increasing presidential control...more
4/16/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Banks ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Repeal ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
New executive order mandates a general transition to electronic payments and the elimination of paper checks for federal payments, such as distributing tax refunds, Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, and other key...more
3/31/2025
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Fraud Prevention ,
Payment Systems ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
The Trump Administration has made clear that it intends to lessen the barriers to bank merger and acquisition activity. As we previously noted, the FDIC has moved to lower some of the impediments to mergers under its 2024...more
Following a key hearing in February, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) is seeking to protect financial freedom with the introduction of the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act. The...more
3/13/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Due Process ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
NCUA ,
OCC ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Senate Committees
The OCC has reiterated that certain crypto-related activities—crypto-asset custody, distributed ledger, and stablecoin activities—previously determined to be permissible remain so. The OCC has also rescinded a Biden-era...more
The FDIC has signaled the reversal of key, controversial proposals from 2024. In doing so, it has provided welcome clarity on important areas that implicate banks of various sizes and charter types, allowing banks to focus on...more
3/5/2025
/ Advertising ,
Banks ,
Brokered Deposits ,
CBCA ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Mergers ,
OCC ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
Trump Administration continues aggressive use of Executive Orders to assert Article II powers.
Latest EO will require one of the most extensive regulatory reviews ever....more
Despite the tone and tint of recent headlines, President Trump's February 18, 2025, "Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies" Executive Order (the "Accountability EO") appears to be the latest in a long line of efforts to...more
2/24/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Executive Orders ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
OIRA ,
OMB ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
The recent confirmation of Russ Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is expected to kickstart the Administration's centralized approach to reforming the administrative state. The recently revived...more
Recent announcements by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) and X might signal that financial modernization may have finally reached a tipping point. With the right regulatory environment, fintechs and other new market...more
2/6/2025
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Fintech Charter ,
OCC ,
Payment Systems ,
Popular
On January 13, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled on Coinbase's Petition for Review of the SEC's Order denying Coinbase's Petition for Rulemaking requesting that the Commission promulgate rules...more
1/29/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CFTC ,
Coinbase ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Process ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCC ,
Popular ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
We have previously analyzed the recent history of Executive Orders ("EOs") controlling the issuance and content of regulations. As we saw on Inauguration Day 2025, and continue to see, the second Trump Administration is...more
The Trump Administration has embarked on a fundamental shift on how the United States approaches digital assets—in marked contrast with the Biden Administration's policies—likely changing the prospects of the crypto market in...more
1/27/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Reserve ,
FinTech ,
Liquidity ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
Federal banking agencies under a second Trump Administration are expected to be more receptive to industry proposals for bank mergers, acquisitions, and related transactions. We've previously explored national trust banks and...more
1/17/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank Holding Company Act ,
Bank Merger Act ,
Banking Sector ,
CBCA ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Banks ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
The federal banking agencies under a second Trump Administration are expected to be more receptive to industry proposals geared toward growth. We've previously explored national trust banks to streamline state licensing....more
1/10/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Compliance ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Investment ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
As we have previously noted, we expect that the second Trump Administration will be significantly more favorable to crypto than the Biden Administration, especially with the recent appointment of David Sacks as the...more
12/9/2024
/ Accounting Standards ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Confidential Supervisory Information ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Innovation ,
OCC ,
Operation Choke Point ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reputational Injury ,
Risk Assessment ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
In the absence of modern charters and licenses, payments companies and other fintechs—both established financial services providers and new market entrants—must generally obtain 50+ money transmitter and possibly other state...more
11/25/2024
/ Bank Holding Company Act ,
Banks ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deposit Insurance ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Licenses ,
National Bank Act ,
National Bank Charters ,
OCC ,
Payment Systems ,
Popular ,
Virtual Currency
Efforts by the Executive Branch to shape and control regulatory output is nothing new. Beginning with the Nixon Administration, several administrations have issued Executive Orders (EOs) to limit or otherwise influence how...more
During the Biden-Harris Administration, the relationship between financial institutions and their regulators chilled considerably. The financial services industry works daily with its regulators—especially through the...more
11/20/2024
/ Banks ,
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Chevron Deference ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Digital Assets ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Authority ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
UDAAP
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) holds tremendous promise for financial institutions and their customers. But that promise comes with potential peril, as highlighted in a recent alert issued by the U.S. Treasury...more
11/19/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Deep Fake ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Machine Learning ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
While the coming weeks and months will provide more clarity, we already can anticipate some indications of what is in store for bank regulation, supervision, and enforcement in a second Trump Administration. To help navigate...more
11/15/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Brokered Deposits ,
Chevron Deference ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Corporate Governance ,
Deregulation ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interagency Guidance ,
OCC ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda
"The United States, with its history of welcoming innovators, has a large reserve of good will. In a country that ever aspires to improve with time, people are hopeful that bad policy approaches can change. This hope is not...more