December 4, 2018 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Multiple federal agencies have come together to encourage banks to innovate when it comes to compliance. The statement is part of a governmental working group that has been created to collaborate between some of the financial regulatory entities. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency… Read More

July 1, 2018 @ 10:25 am By Christian Felber  |  

On June 10th, Swiss voters took to the polls to decide whether the country should switch to a so-called sovereign money system. Those supporting the measure felt it would make the financial system safer by preventing bankers from recklessly lending and putting people’s savings at… Read More

May 17, 2018 @ 6:37 pm By Cali Haan  |  

    In a morning talk Monday at the massive cryptocurrency conference Consensus, economist James Bullard, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, challenged the vision of a muliti-coin paradise espoused by ICO (Initial Coin Offering) marketers. His thesis in a… Read More

November 30, 2017 @ 1:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision, Randal K. Quarles, commented on digital currencies today in a speech in Washington, DC. Quarles cautioned on cryptocurrencies noting that; “Digital currencies may not pose major concerns at their current levels of use, more serious financial stability issues… Read More

November 19, 2017 @ 9:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month Crowdfund Insider posted a research report published by the Cleveland Federal Reserve that was highly critical of the peer to peer lending industry (marketplace lending) in the US. The report, authored by Yuliya Demyanyk at the Cleveland Federal Reserve, Elena Loutskina at the University… Read More

November 9, 2017 @ 4:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve is out with a disconcerting report regarding the peer to peer lending or marketplace lending industry. According to the authors, Yuliya Demyanyk at the Cleveland Federal Reserve, Elena Loutskina at the University of Virginia, and Daniel Kolliner at the University of Maryland, peer… Read More

November 1, 2017 @ 7:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Jerome “Jay” Powell, a current Federal Reserve Governor, appears to be the Trump Administration’s pick to replace current Fed Chair Janet Yellen this coming February. Powell may not have been an obvious selection but much of the media is describing him as a steady hand… Read More

July 21, 2017 @ 2:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today the Faster Payments Task Force, created by the Federal Reserve, released its final report along with their recommendations on what needs to be accomplished to bring the US up to date in the payments space. Anybody engaged in the payments sector understands that the US… Read More

July 21, 2017 @ 12:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Faster Payments Task Force is a group of payment industry stakeholders with representatives from across the payment ecosystem. The group involved over three hundred different stakeholders. The Federal Reserve assembled the task force to help identify and evaluate alternative approaches to implementing safe and… Read More

April 14, 2017 @ 5:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve has published a report on the state of small business credit. The Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS), a national collaboration of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, is designed to provide information on small business financing needs, decisions, and outcomes to policy makers. The… Read More

February 6, 2017 @ 10:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

Patrick T. Harker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, delivered a speech today on Fintech innovation and the importance of regulation. Harker stated that regulation is not only about protecting consumers but it is important to protect innovators as well; “It’s in their… Read More

December 12, 2016 @ 9:55 am By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve released a report on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) or Blockchain last week. The document reviews the potential and challenges for the new technology to disrupt and benefit financial services.  The Federal Reserve is correctly reviewing DLT – just as other central banks… Read More

December 7, 2016 @ 3:40 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve published a research paper on fintech monitoring. According to the organization, this new paper refers the technology as a combination of components such as peer-to-peer networking, distribution data storage, and cryptography. The Federal Reserve revealed in the document: “Digital… Read More

September 23, 2016 @ 10:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Every now and then the Federal Reserve kicks out some interesting research regarding Fintech and alternative finance. During the waning days of summer of 2015, the Federal Reserve of Cleveland published a report on online lending entitled; “Alternative Lending Through the Eyes of Mom &… Read More

March 20, 2016 @ 10:47 am By Robert Riedl  |  

Well, the Federal Reserve has spoken again and though we are all listening, sometimes it’s hard to tell what all those carefully crafted paragraphs actually mean.  So here’s a quick snapshot of the top three things that you, as a small business owner, should know…. Read More

March 16, 2016 @ 8:39 am By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) convenes today to discuss and determine if interest rates need to rise. Recent geopolitical realities, such as the ECB going all in as growth sputters, have pushed most Fed watchers into the camp that rising rates are on… Read More

February 11, 2016 @ 10:12 am By JD Alois  |  

Janet Yellen, Chair of the Federal Reserve, returns to Capitol Hill again today to continue her testimony.  Today she returns to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.  The hearing, entitled, “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress”, will give Yellen a… Read More

December 30, 2015 @ 5:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

As the entire world knows the Federal Reserve decided to increase their benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on December 16th.  After much discussion and introspection, Janet Yellen, along with the other Fed board members, decided the economy was on solid enough footing to… Read More

December 22, 2015 @ 4:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

Following the move by the Federal Reserve, Lending Club (NYSE: LC) has announced it will increase interest rates by 0.25% thus matching the move by the Fed last week.  The announcement is not unexpected and is similar to what many major banks have announced.  Lending… Read More

December 16, 2015 @ 2:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

As most Fed followers expected, the FOMC decided to increase interest rates nudging up rates by 25 basis points. The last time the Fed raised rates was almost 10 years ago. The back and forth chatter regarding when the Fed would act has been a… Read More