Hippos are legitimately terrifying and I'm really glad they're getting their due here.

US Fair Lending Enforcement Curbed Under Trump CFPB’s Final Rule The Trump administration’s CFPB finalized a rule rolling back fair lending enforcement by eliminating a tool used to weed out unintended bias and making it harder to bring claims that lenders discoura...

The CFPB is set to release its final rule gutting fair lending enforcement tomorrow (it's in the Federal Register's Public Inspection file today). The rule eliminates the use of disparate impact and otherwise implements a November proposal. news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

The Mets may stink something awful, but at least I get taser ads when I listen to the games on the radio.

I got a new work laptop. The control and function keys are in reverse order from my old one. It's surprisingly debilitating.

This story from Maia, Megan Crapeau and @bethawang.bsky.social is really tremendous and I urge folks to read it. Really makes me proud to be in this newsroom.

Oh, so now New Jersey likes congestion pricing.

For all you National Bank Act preemption fans, the OCC's interim final rules meant to block Illinois's interchange fee law and other similar fee restrictions were sent for White House review yesterday.

But unless Vought has a change of heart and determines that CDFI funding is no longer "woke," the funds may get blocked again.

CDFIs are small banks, credit unions, and loan funds that serve communities traditional banks don't serve. So this hurts a lot of poor urban and rural communities.

In fact, there's around $1 billion in CDFI Fund money, including more than $600 million appropriated by Congress in fiscal 2025 and 2026, just waiting to sent out.

This year, Trump wants to slash CDFI funding yet again. Congress is probably gonna push back.

Community Development Funds Blocked as Trump Targets Program The Trump administration is setting up a renewed fight over the future of a Treasury Department office supporting community financial institutions even as it has failed to disburse around $1 billion a...

Last year, Donald Trump and Russell Vought tried to eliminate the CDFI Fund. Republicans pushed back, the agency got funded. It was a whole thing.

Except Vought still hasn't signed off on disbursement plans. So the funds are still just sitting there.

news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

We're going to Ireland next week and my younger son has made it his mission to learn how to shout 6-7 in Gaelic.

He already does it in English, Spanish, French, and Italian. While I appreciate his enthusiasm for languages, it doesn't get any less annoying.

So Chag Sameach and Happy Easter from Vought, who also tried to fire around 90% of the CFPB staff ahead of Valentine's Day last year.

CFPB Files New Plan With Court to Fire Half of Remaining Staff The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asked a federal appeals court for permission to implement a new reduction-in-force plan that would cut around half of the agency’s remaining employees.

The Trump administration asked the DC Circuit for permission to fire around half of the CFPB's in a late Tuesday night motion. The court wanted a particularized plan for how Russ Vought intends to meet statutory obligations, and they got one.

news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

DOJ Watchdog Accused of Abdicating Oversight of Trump Leaders The Justice Department’s internal oversight offices have refused to pursue their traditional roles investigating senior officials at a time of unprecedented Trump-era misconduct, whistleblower attorne...

NEW: DOJ Inspector General refused to investigate whistleblower Erez Reuveni's misconduct complaint against Emil Bove & other top officials, as watchdog accused of failing to probe political scandals under Trump news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Also the Mets radio broadcast is sponsored by a pepper spray company? Is this new?

a red apple is sitting in a trash can with the words `` let 's go mets '' written above it . ALT: a red apple is sitting in a trash can with the words `` let 's go mets '' written above it .

I'm listening to the Mets on the radio (and working! I promise!) and apparently a dead bird fell from the sky right next to Carson Benge in right field?

I just watched a couple of Democratic lawmakers ask Fed, FDIC, OCC, and NCUA officials what those agencies are doing about prediction markets. The officials all found polite ways to say, "That's not us. Talk to the SEC and CFTC."

I would like to reclaim my time.

Get your pencils ready, folks. The Basel III endgame proposals are gonna hit the Federal Register tomorrow and the comment period closes June 18.

My Pumpkins? Smashed.

I had never actually heard MrBeast's voice before writing that story. RIP that streak.

Celebrity-Backed Financial Tools for Teens Spur Federal Scrutiny Online celebrities, startups, and big-name financial institutions are targeting teens as the latest lucrative market for fintech products—and they’ve caught the eye of the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC says that it wants to take a close look at teen-focused financial apps. The timing makes sense, what with MrBeast getting involved in the action now. New from Cassandre Coyer and me.

news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

In these dark times, it's good to know that heroes walk among us.

Now that the capital rules are out for comment, the OCC (and FDIC and NCUA) are getting ready for their long-anticipated rewrite of AML rules. This hit the White House regulatory review office yesterday.

I spent all night trying to remember what this reminded me of. And then it hit me.

As this this story from yesterday in Oregon posted, I was writing up a federal judge in a separate case ordering Vought to get money from the Fed and shredding the Justice Department's argument that he can't.

No, not the DC case. Today's was in California.

news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

March 19, 2026 — Sunshine Act Meeting Notice | FDIC.gov Public notice of FDIC meetings; including the time, place, and agenda as required by the "Government in the Sunshine Act" (5 U.S.C. § 552b).

Looks like Thursday is the official day for the FDIC and OCC, at least, to release they're big capital rule rewrites.

www.fdic.gov/news/board-m...

Here's a sampling of some of things this lawyer heard:

“I want you to defend your position, because I don’t see it.”

“I’m having a hard time with this argument, so maybe you might want to move on to something else.”

"I think your argument is internally inconsistent."

Not great!

Trump’s CFPB Plans to Request More Funding Ahead of April Cliff The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to request more money to keep operating past March 31, a Justice Department lawyer told a federal judge who was skeptical of the Trump administration’s r...

The news is that Russ Vought is going to ask for more money for the CFPB by the end of the month. The story is how a bad day a Justice Department lawyer had when he delivered this news to Judge Ann L. Aiken of the federal district court in Eugene, Ore.

news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/...

Even when the government's lawyer, Charles Roberts, tried to move on Judge Aiken of the district of Oregon came back and asked more questions about the funding argument. Called the argument "internally inconsistent."

Seems bad!

Take the L, man.