In the News
Can Reforms of Financial Regulation Encourage Economic Growth?
The UK government is proposing regulatory reforms of the financial services sector as part of its agenda for boosting economic growth. The main focus is on encouraging domestic investment by...
Why Cash Poor Americans Often Fail to Get Ahead
Ilaria D’Anca, 44, in Mesa, Arizona felt that she had everything going for her with a graduate degree in advertising and public relations, with honors. She worked 20 years as...
Block Takes on Payday Lenders with Cash App
The company says new consumer loans to be made by its Square bank through the digital wallet are a less expensive alternative to predatory short-term financing. The payments giant Block...
OCC Clarifies Bank Authority to Engage in Certain Cryptocurrency Activities
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today took action to reaffirm that a range of cryptocurrency activities are permissible in the federal banking system. The OCC published...
The Fintech-Bank Marriage is Broken. Can Better Regulation Fix It?
Regulatory scrutiny of the bank-fintech relationship intensified last spring after middleware provider Synapse collapsed, leaving thousands of online customers’ deposits in the lurch. Courtesy of Trading View Last summer, federal...
FinCEN Issues Southwest Border Geographic Targeting Order
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) to further combat the illicit activities and money laundering of Mexico-based cartels...
Banks Say Court’s ‘Novel’ Ruling Upends Wire Transfer Business
The banking industry wants a federal appeals court review in New York’s case against Citibank, arguing that a judge has injected uncertainty into the wire transfer market. Courtesy of Justin...
FTC Lawsuit Temporarily Halts ‘Phantom Debt Collection’ Scheme
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Monday (March 3) that its lawsuit led a federal court to temporarily halt the operations and freeze the assets of a “phantom debt collection”...
Women Are Driving the Wellness Revolution in Cannabis
Women are driving innovation and shaping cannabis market trends, which could be the way to reinvigorate the struggling industry. As more women embrace cannabis for wellness purposes such as stress...
House Committee Adopts Resolution to Nullify CFPB Overdraft Rule
The House Financial Services Committee on March 5 took the first step toward repealing the CFPB’s overdraft rule, adopting a resolution under the Congressional Review Act. The resolution, H. J....
U.S. Treasury’s Bessent Vows to Re-Privatize an Economy That Is ‘Brittle Underneath’
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday argued that the U.S. economy is more fragile under the surface than economic metrics suggest and vowed to “re-privatize” growth by cutting government...
ICYMI: Shutting Down CFPB ‘Begging for Another Financial Crisis’ Says Former Director
Rohit Chopra, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), argued Monday that shutting down the agency is “begging for another financial crisis,” as the Trump administration takes...