On Wednesday, speaking at a meeting of the Exchequer Club — which is a group of senior economic and financial policy professionals headquartered in Washington, D.C. — Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu delivered remarks on the topic of safeguarding trust in banking. In the speech, Hsu named reducing inequality, adapting to digitalization, acting on climate change and guarding against complacency as the main priorities of his office. Speaking on the regulatory challenges emerging as a result of digitization of the financial system, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) listed rising cryptocurrency-related and …
The ease of laundering money in the U.S. before 1970 boggles the mind. Prior to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of that year, there were no federal standards for banks to keep records on activity that fell under the category of “suspicious.” There were also no consistent reporting requirements — it was the BSA that established the $10,000 threshold that stands to this day. But it’s not like the BSA banished money laundering from U.S. shores. It wouldn’t even be until 1986 that money laundering was classified as a federal crime — a landmark in global anti-money laundering. Despite that …
The U.S. Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is expanding an outreach program designed to provide access to minority depository institutions, or MDIs. Per a Thursday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the OCC's Project REACh is expanding to include a pledge of large and mid-sized banks partnering with MDIs. The pledge requires the partner bank to expand investment and support for executive development at the MDI that it works with. MDIs are simply banks or credit unions that are majority-owned by ethnic or racial minorities. They are seen as critical to expanding financial inclusion to minority groups left out …
Martin J. Gruenberg, the acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, named “crypto-assets” among the agency’s key priorities in 2022, alongside addressing financial risks associated with climate change and promoting amendments to major federal statutes relevant to FDIC’s jurisdiction. A Feb. 7 statement outlines five key areas that the agency deems most important for its mission of maintaining public confidence in the U.S. financial system. Number four on the list is evaluating “crypto-asset risks.” Acknowledging the rapid pace with which digital asset-based products are becoming part of the financial landscape, the statement emphasizes systemic risks that this …
A United States banking industry regulator warned banks of the “emerging risks” of cryptocurrencies saying the sector should take a “cautious approach” and seek permission in some cases when engaging with crypto or crypto firms. Citing “dislocations” in the crypto market over 2022 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) highlighted what it said were “several key risks” of crypto in its Dec. 8 Semiannual Risk Perspective for Fall 2022 report. Its three main concerns are that “stablecoins may be unstable,” the crypto industry lacks mature risk management practices and has a high risk of contagion due to …