by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, is the new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, an influential panel that oversees the nation’s banking and securities sectors. Hill outlined his priorities for change in the 119th Congress in a recent Talk Business & Politics interview.

When he campaigned for the House committee chairmanship, Hill rolled out a package of ideas titled “Make Community Banking Great Again” to explain how he would guide the panel and push for new legislation. A former U.S. Treasury official in the George H.W. Bush administration, Arkansas’ 2nd District Congressman said he wants to see regulations better tied to bank size.

“I believe strongly in tailoring regulations. So the more large and complex your business strategy, the more regulatory surveillance and scrutiny that you ought to have. The smaller and more straightforward your business, you ought to have a lighter touch of regulation. You still comply with the regulations, but you have it in a less costly way to the institution,” he said.

Rep. Hill outlines priorities for bank regulatory changes, cryptocurrency

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

Banks are wanting to offer cryptotechnology services, so the Federal Reserve is studying how those activities should be supervised while reminding them to manage risks and act legally, said Michelle Bowman, one of the Fed’s seven members of the Board of Governors.

Bowman spoke Wednesday (Aug. 17) in Little Rock at the inaugural VenCent Fintech Summit. The summit is a gathering of banking and information technology professionals sponsored by The Venture Center, an entrepreneur support organization based in Little Rock. “Fintech” stands for “financial technology.” Bowman first spoke and then answered questions from Arkansas State Bank Commissioner Susannah Marshall and from the audience.

Bowman said banks want to better understand and potentially provide cryptotechnology services in light of consumer demand. Deposits are flowing to crypto firms, so banks want to offer those services themselves. But before a bank offers crypto services, it needs to consider the risks to itself and to its customers.

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/08/fed-governor-banks-looking-to-get-into-crypto/