|
The Morning Risk Report: Banks Get Kinder, Gentler Treatment Under Trump |
|
|
| |
|
|
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams and Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles have asked examiners to adopt a less aggressive tone with banks. PHOTO: TOM WILLIAMS/CQ ROLL CALL/NEWSCOM/ZUMA PRESS
|
|
|
Good day. After years of acrimony, the nation’s top banking regulators are seeking a detente with the firms they oversee. Two Trump-appointed officials have spent months touring the country, visiting bank examiners in regional offices and asking them to adopt a less-aggressive tone when flagging risky practices and pressing firms to change their behavior.
The officials—the Federal Reserve’s Randal Quarles and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s Jelena McWilliams—aim to change policy in a subtle but significant way and reshape regulators’ relationship with banks, which officials have said was too contentious during the Obama years that followed the financial crisis.
[Continued below...]
|
|
|
|
Changing the supervision culture “will be the least visible thing I do and it will be the most consequential thing I do,” Mr. Quarles, the Fed’s vice chairman for supervision and regulatory point person, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “The banks should feel that their supervisor is going to be firm but fair.”
The internal effort to change the culture among examiners has included specific directives from Trump-appointed officials. Mr. Quarles told Fed examiners to include positive feedback in their reports instead of focusing only on deficiencies, according to the central bank. Critics say friendlier examiners could blunt the effect of postcrisis rules, giving banks more freedom to engage in riskier practices.
|
|
|
| From Risk & Compliance Journal |
|
|
Charges in Panama Papers Probe Shine Light on ‘Enablers’ |
|
Charges announced last week against four people with ties to defunct Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co. demonstrate how professional service providers potentially can enable abuse of the financial system.
|
|
|
Chinese Firm to Pay $3.4 Million to Settle Sanctions
Violations |
|
|
|
After #MeToo, Those Who Report Harassment Still Risk Retaliation |
|
Much of the #MeToo movement has been about emboldening people who experience harassment to come forward without fear of retribution, but data show there are negative consequences for many who do.
|
|
Cryptocurrency Startup Settles Fraud Accusations |
|
One of the first startups sued by U.S. regulators over its initial coin offering will pay $2.3 million after being accused of scamming investors through claims such as building a cryptocurrency bank.
|
|
|
CBS News Settles Harassment Suit |
|
|
Justice Department Closes Criminal Investigation of
SeaWorld |
|
The Justice Department has closed a criminal investigation into SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. over its response to a 2013 documentary that criticized the company’s treatment of killer whales.
|
|
|
|
|
Evian pledged to make all its plastic bottles entirely from recycled plastic by 2025. PHOTO: ANDREY RUDAKOV/BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
|
|
Plastic Bottles, Which Enabled a Drinks Boom, Now Threaten a
Crisis |
|
Evian this year pledged to make all its plastic bottles entirely from recycled plastic by 2025, up from 30% today and among the boldest goals in the industry. Executives at parent company Danone SA hope the move will help it regain market share and win over plastic detractors who are already pressuring the makers of straws, bags and coffee cups.
|
|
Huawei’s 1,500 U.S.-Based Staff Grow Wary Over Arrest |
|
The arrest of Huawei Technology Co.’s finance chief has stirred job insecurity among the Chinese company’s 1,500 U.S.-based workers, already uneasy about Washington’s campaign against their employer.
|
|
|
|
Companies Step Up Brexit Planning Amid U.K. Political Turmoil |
|
Corporate decision makers at British and European companies are stepping up their preparations for a potentially disruptive Brexit amid deepening uncertainty over the U.K.’s future trading relationship with Europe.
|
|
|
Many U.S. Financial Officers Think a Recession Will Hit Next
Year |
|
|
|
FBI Says China’s Espionage Poses ‘Severe’ Threat to U.S. Security |
|
|
|
GM CEO Is Under Fire From Trump, Lawmakers Over Restructuring |
|
A tense exchange with President Trump is a sign of disappointment toward GM in Washington. Anger toward GM—which received a $49.5 billion federal bailout in 2009 to ensure its postbankruptcy survival—is bipartisan.
|
|
|
|
|
Procter & Gamble acquired Walker & Co. as the company seeks to expand its offerings to African-Americans. PHOTO: JOHN MINCHILLO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
P&G Buys Walker & Co. to Expand Offerings to
African-Americans |
|
|
Samsung Downsizes China Operations With Factory Closure |
|
Samsung Electronics Co. plans to close a Chinese smartphone factory in the next two weeks, as the South Korean company shifts manufacturing to India and its sales flounder in China, the world’s largest handset market.
|
|
|
Credit Suisse to Buy Back up to $3 Billion in Shares |
|
|
Lowe’s Adds $10 Billion to Stock Buyback Program |
|
|
Walmart, Express Scripts Extend Prescription-Services
Agreement |
|
Retail giant Walmart Inc. and pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co. have extended their network agreement to provide access to Walmart’s prescription services for Express Scripts clients’ covered members.
|
|
|
Accenture Interactive to Acquire Ad-Tech Firm Adaptly |
|
Accenture Interactive is continuing its push into digital media buying with an agreement to acquire New York City-based Adaptly, an ad-tech company that helps marketers buy targeted ads across online platforms including Amazon, Google and Facebook.
|
|
Warburg Pincus Plans $1 Billion Joint Venture in China |
|
|
|
Apple to Build New Campus in Austin |
|
Apple Inc. plans to invest $1 billion building a new corporate campus in Austin, Texas, that could eventually create 15,000 jobs, the company said, as the iPhone maker seeks to make good on its promises to strengthen its contributions to the American economy.
|
|
|
Europe, Japan Trade Deal Will Launch With 600 Million
Customers |
|
European Union lawmakers capped a two-year sprint to seal an economic partnership agreement with Japan on Wednesday, highlighting the U.S. allies’ urgency in reacting to President Trump’s disruptive trade policies.
|
|
|
|
Elliott Takes Big Stake in Pernod, Maker of Absolut, Chivas Regal |
|
|
Integral Ad Science Taps Former Yahoo Executive as CEO |
|
|
|
|
|