Overview
- The president signed two executive orders on May 19–20 that push regulators to strengthen anti-money-laundering checks that account for customers’ immigration and work-authorized status and to advise banks on identifying suspicious patterns.
- The administration backed away from a plan to require banks to collect citizenship from all customers and instead ordered Treasury to issue guidance on how undocumented immigrants can open accounts and receive loans.
- Federal agencies including the SEC, FDIC, OCC, CFPB, CFTC and NCUA have 90 days to identify rule changes that block fintech–bank partnerships and 180 days to begin implementing reforms.
- The Federal Reserve must report within 120 days on its legal authority, risks, and barriers to granting non-bank and uninsured depositary firms direct access to Reserve Bank payment accounts, with the order referencing last March’s Kansas City Fed limited-purpose account for Kraken as precedent.
- Banks and community bank groups warn that tighter document checks would be costly and could push vulnerable people out of the formal banking system while lawmakers and regulators debate consumer protection, financial-stability and legal questions that could lead to legislation or oversight actions.