SBE Council unveils policy agenda
The Small Business and Entrepreneurship (SBE) Council has unveiled its 2018 Policy Agenda, with an eye toward making America more globally competitive while revitalizing the ecosystem for entrepreneur...
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Majority of Americans confident in 401(k) plans, reject legislative changes
A new Investment Company Institute (ICI) study said 77 percent of Americans are confident that their employer-sponsored retirement plans can help them meet their retirement goals and 90 percent reject...
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FINRA goes live with rule changes to protect seniors from fraud
FINRA rule changes that seek to limit the financial exploitation of seniors and vulnerable adults went into effect this week. One of the changes states that firms are now required to make reasonabl...
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Economy adds 200,000 jobs in January, unemployment at 4.1 percent
The U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, keeping the unemployment rate at 4.1 percent. The 4.1 percent unemployment rate matched the lowest unemp...
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Consumer access to FICO data reaches 250 million
Analytics software firm FICO recently revealed 250 million consumer credit and loan accounts now have access to FICO Scores used by lenders via the FICO Score Open Access program. “The FICO Scor...
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Federal Reserve Board releases stress test scenarios for 2018
The Federal Reserve Board released last week the 2018 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR), as well as the scenarios banks will use for stress tests. Stress tests are designed to ensur...
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CUNA President, CEO Nussle outlines how credit unions have evolved
Credit Union National Association (CUNA) President and CEO Jim Nussle outlined how credit unions continue to fulfill their statutory mission in response to a request for such information from Sen. Orr...
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FINRA creates two new advisory committees, makes changes to others
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) made several changes to some of its existing advisory committees and announced the formation of two new advisory committees. The two new committ...
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Puerto Rico to receive $1.5 billion in disaster recovery funds
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently earmarked more than $1.5 billion to aid Puerto Rico’s recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Officials said the funds were provid...
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Insurance associations respond to letter that says tax reform will be a windfall for insurers
Two insurance groups responded to a letter sent to state insurance commissioners by the Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) which said the tax reform plan wo...
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FTC, Justice Department officials meet in China on antitrust enforcement
The head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a representative from the Justice Department met with Chinese officials in Beijing this week to discuss efforts to ensure effective antitrust enforce...
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Federal courts overturn ruling that says CFPB structure is unconstitutional
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned an October 2016 court ruling that said the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was unconstitutional. The CFPB, es...
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GAO suggests ways regulators can comply with Regulatory Flexibility Act
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found weaknesses in how financial regulators comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). Federal financial regulators -- the Board of Governors...
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GAO makes recommendations to IRS to reduce tax refund fraud
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has made six recommendations to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to help prevent fraudsters from stealing people’s tax refunds. In 2016, hackers ...
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House passes bill that helps consumers open bank accounts online
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this week that would allow consumers to open bank accounts online, without having to visit a physical branch. Currently, due to inconsistent state la...
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Subcommittee hearing looks at challenges, opportunities with fintech
The House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit convened this week to discuss opportunities and challenges in the financial technology, or fintech, market. The challenge lies i...
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Human trafficking, financial markets impact examined
The Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations recently conducted a hearing exploring the impact of human traffickers on domestic financial markets. Officials said t...
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