News
"House Republican leaders on Thursday choose Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) to lead the House Financial Services Committee in the 119th Congress...
Hill was selected to lead the Financial Services panel, over Reps. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), according to two sources in the room of leaders who made the decision. Hill won on the second ballot after Lucas dropped off on the first ballot, one source said."
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) amends Regulations E and Z to update regulatory exceptions for overdraft credit provided by very large financial institutions, thereby ensuring that these extensions of overdraft credit adhere to consumer protections required of similarly situated products, unless the overdraft fee is a small amount that only recovers estimated costs and losses. The rule allows consumers to better comparison shop across credit products and provides substantive protections that apply to other consumer credit."
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a final overdraft rule that caps overdraft fees at $5 for the largest banks. The sweeping rule immediately drew a legal challenge from bank trade groups.
The CFPB said in a final rule issued Thursday, that it will reclassify overdraft fees as loans subject to interest rate disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act. The rule would apply only to the largest banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets, impacting roughly 175 financial institutions.
The Consumer Bankers Association said late Thursday that it is jointly pursuing legal action against the CFPB with the American Bankers Association, America's Credit Unions, Mississippi Bankers Association and three banks directly affected by the rule."
"The Mission Driven Bank Fund today announced an investment in FNBC Bancorp, Inc., a community development financial institution (CDFI) bank committed to expanding financial services in underserved communities in Arkansas and Missouri. The investment adds to the growing portfolio of banks that demonstrate the Fund's commitment to help the underserved by providing mission-aligned banks with a range of investment instruments and subsidized technical services tailored to their needs.
FNBC Bancorp, Inc. will use the capital to expand its geographic footprint and scope in North-Central Arkansas and Southern Missouri. Bank leaders hope to grow their current products to increase credit access in underserved populations, primarily through their First Chance Mortgage Program and Small Dollar Loan Program."
"Federally assisted rental housing relies on subsidies that help housing providers build, operate and maintain affordable homes, according to the report. These federal project-based subsidies support over 5 million homes, or 10% of the nation's rental housing stock.
The report highlights threats to this type of housing: Although the U.S. added more than 104,000 homes to its federally assisted housing stock in recent years, it lost more than 71,000 such homes. Affordability restrictions are set to expire for more than 374,000 federally assisted homes in the next five years, and about 267,000 public housing homes failed recent inspections, meaning they likely require immediate investment."
"As the traditional holiday shopping season kicked off on Thanksgiving weekend, the White House announced that the Small Business Administration (SBA) is increasing small business lending limits, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released guidelines to small businesses compete for federal contracting opportunities...
The SBA is announcing an increase of the maximum loan amount backed by SBA Community Advantage Small Business Lending Companies from $350,000 to $500,000 for active lenders in good standing."
"Carver Bancorp's new CEO, Donald Felix, is managing through a proxy contest as he devises a plan to return the Black-operated bank to profitability. . . 'This is a good opportunity,' Felix said. 'It's meaningful for the future. With so few Black-operated banks remaining, Carver ... is too important not to succeed.'"
"Leading House Republicans on banking issues called on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to withdraw its brokered deposit proposal, previewing part of the GOP's bank regulatory agenda in the next Congress.
Reps. Andy Barr, R-Ky., and French Hill, R-Ark., both leading contenders to be the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee next year, asked that FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg abandon the brokered deposit rulemaking, which would reverse a more bank-friendly rule issued during the first Trump administration."
"Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) will be a part of the newly-formed Senate DOGE Caucus, designed to find and eliminate governmental waste.
The caucus, led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), will work with the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, which is helmed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy."
"Scott Bessent spent the past 40 years studying economic history. Now, as Donald Trump's choice to lead the Treasury Department, he has the chance to make his mark on it.
As a hedge-fund manager, first at George Soros's firm and later at his own, Bessent specialized in macroinvesting, or analyzing geopolitical situations and economic data to wager on big-picture market moves. He generated billions of dollars in profits betting on and against currencies, interest rates, stocks and other asset classes around the world."