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On October 16, Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr delivered remarks highlighting the significant implementation gaps regulators must bridge under the GENIUS Act, the newly enacted federal framework for payment stablecoins (previously discussed here). Barr’s comments centered on areas where the statute leaves critical details to regulators, including reserve composition, supervisory authority, and consumer safeguards, which will determine whether the framework effectively mitigates systemic and operational risks.Continue Reading Federal Reserve Governor Barr Highlights Gaps Regulators Must Bridge Under GENIUS Act

On September 12, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky upheld the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation II cap on debit-card interchange fees, rejecting a merchant’s Administrative Procedure Act challenge. The court concluded the rule is neither “contrary to law” nor “arbitrary and capricious,” interpreting the Dodd-Frank Act’s Durbin Amendment under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to permit consideration of certain transaction-related costs when setting the cap.Continue Reading Kentucky Federal Court Upholds Federal Reserve’s Debit-Card Fee Cap

On August 15, the Federal Reserve Board announced that it has rescinded its 2023 supervisory letter establishing the Novel Activities Supervision Program (NASP). The program had focused on overseeing banks’ involvement in crypto assets, distributed ledger technology, and fintech partnerships. The Fed explained that it has “strengthened its understanding” of these activities and will return to supervising them through the standard supervisory process.Continue Reading Federal Reserve Ends Novel Activities Supervision Program for Crypto and Fintech Oversight

On August 6, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota vacated the Federal Reserve’s 2011 Regulation II interchange fee cap rule, finding that the rule allegedly exceeded the FRB’s authority under the Durbin Amendment of the Dodd-Frank Act. The court determined that the Board improperly included costs unrelated to specific transactions in calculating the interchange fee cap.Continue Reading Federal Court Vacates Federal Reserve’s Interchange Fee Rule

On August 7, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Stephen Miran, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. If confirmed by the Senate, Miran would replace Governor Adriana Kugler, who resigned August 8, and serve through the remainder of her term, ending January 31, 2026, while the search for a permanent replacement takes place.Continue Reading Trump to Nominate Stephen Miran to Federal Reserve Board of Governors

On July 14, the OCC, Federal Reserve, and FDIC announced the release of a joint statement clarifying how existing laws and regulations apply to crypto-asset safekeeping services offered by banking organizations. The statement does not impose new supervisory expectations but reinforces how banking organizations must apply established fiduciary duties, risk management standards, and third-party oversight frameworks when holding crypto-assets on behalf of customers.Continue Reading Federal Banking Regulators Issue Joint Guidance on Crypto-Asset Safekeeping

On June 23, the Federal Reserve Board announced that reputational risk will no longer be a component of its bank-examination program. The same day, the Board released a revised edition of its Guidelines for Rating Risk Management at State Member Banks and Bank Holding Companies, which deletes every reference to reputational risk.Continue Reading Federal Reserve Board Removes Reputational Risk from Examination Ratings

On March 28, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC jointly announced plans to rescind 2023 revisions to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. The agencies stated they would return to the previous regulatory framework existing before the 2023 revisions (See our prior discussion here).Continue Reading Federal Regulators Signal Reversal on 2023 CRA Modernization Rule

On a July 19, the Federal Reserve Board announced it has issued a consent order against a Utah-based bank and its parent company for engaging in unfair and deceptive acts and practices in violation of Section 5(a)(1) of the FTC Act, as well as for having a faulty consumer compliance risk management program. In addition to the consent order, the Federal Reserve imposed a $44 million fine.Continue Reading Fed Cracks Down on Utah Bank for Alleged Compliance Failures with $44 Million Fine