(12-4-12) Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren has secured a spot on the Senate Banking Committee, and she'll be joined by Sen. Joe Manchin, according to a Democratic Senate aide. Warren, a Harvard professor and founder of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, beat out GOP incumbent Sen. Scott Brown in a heated and expensive battle this fall. Critics have warned that the Massachusetts Democrat could have outsized influence on the committee given her strong and often critical views of the industry, but many observers have said that it would be difficult for Senate leaders to deny her a spot given her background. Several liberal groups had started a petition to encourage Senate leaders to place her on the panel. The Senate aide cautioned that the decisions about Warren and Manchin will not be final until Majority Leader Harry Reid makes a public announcement.

(12-3-12) A number of critical industry bills that languished over the summer and fall are once again gaining prominence in the waning days of the lame duck session. At least two bills appear headed for passage — one that would protect information banks share with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and another that would end a requirement for banks to place a physical placard disclosing ATM fees in addition to an electronic notice. Another relatively uncontroversial bill that could come up for a vote is an extension to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, which exempts homeowners from paying taxes on short sales, principal reductions, and other forms of mortgage forgiveness. Banking groups and credit unions have also been waging an ongoing
battleover a bill to double a cap on credit union business lending to 27.5% of assets, which bankers adamantly oppose. Separately, banks are also battling each other as lawmakers weigh whether to extend the Transaction Account Guarantee before it sunsets at year end.

(11-24-12) The recently published 2012 Report on Sustainable and Responsible Investing Trends in the US from US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment indicates that assets allocated to sustainable investment strategies continue to rise, as they have throughout the past decade. By the end of 2011, $3.74 trillion were invested by means of such strategies as incorporation of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria and shareowner engagement. The total represents a 22% increase over sustainable investment at year end 2009, which stood at $3.07 trillion. By the end of 2011, 443 institutional investors, 272 money managers, and 1,043 community investment institutions with assets in excess of $3.3 trillion were incorporating ESG criteria, and an additional 200 institutional investors or money managers, with assets of $1.54 trillion, had filed or co-filed shareowner resolutions on ESG issues. The report also specifically discusses Community Development Financial Institutions, noting that community investment through CDFIs experienced a 47% increase in assets over 2010, and now stands at $61.4 billion.