The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has designed policies to address the risk of regulatory capture by reducing the potential benefit to industry of capturing the examination process, reducing avenues of inducement, and promoting a culture of independence and public service. FDIC has several policies for documenting bank examination decisions that help promote transparent decision-ma

Since 2015, Congress has not changed parts of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Code) related to financial companies or the Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA). However, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) have updated the resolution planning process to better match resolution planning requirements to the risks of com

In April 2019, GAO identified 2 priority recommendations for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Since then, FDIC has implemented none of those recommendations. In April 2020, GAO identified 1 additional priority recommendation for FDIC, bringing the total number to 3. These recommendations involve the following areas: (1) collaborating with other financial regulators to address con

In April 2019, GAO identified 10 priority recommendations for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve). Since then, the Federal Reserve has implemented 3 of those recommendations. In April 2020, GAO identified 1 additional priority recommendation for the Federal Reserve, bringing the total number to 8. These recommendations involve the following areas: (1) collaborat

GAO found (1) the financial statements of the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) and of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) Resolution Fund (FRF) as of and for the years ended December 31, 2019, and 2018, are presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; (2) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) maintained

The U.S. financial and trade systems have vulnerabilities that criminal organizations seek to exploit. Financial institutions have responsibilities based on Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements to, among other things, report suspicious financial transactions to the Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). However, financial institutions have l

Of the 37 recommendations made to the agencies under this mandate, the agencies have taken actions to implement 32, and some agencies have not taken actions to fully implement five recommendations, as of October 15, 2019. Of the five recommendations not yet fully implemented, the agencies generally agreed with four and one agency neither agreed nor disagreed with one. GAO makes no new recommendat

From 2014 through 2016, 40 of 86 banks with money transmitter customers that responded to GAO's survey indicated they terminated at least one money transmitter account for money-laundering-related reasons. Money transmitters transfer money for their customers to recipients domestically or internationally. Common reasons given for terminating accounts included the customer not providing informatio

Some of the financial technology (fintech) lenders GAO interviewed said they use nontraditional data—also referred to as alternative data—to supplement the traditional data used to make credit decisions or to detect potential fraud. Federal agencies and stakeholders generally define alternative data as information not traditionally used by the national consumer reporting agencies to calculate

The five largest banks that provide private student loans—student loans that are not guaranteed by the federal government—told GAO that they do not offer private student loan rehabilitation programs because few private student loan borrowers are in default, and because they already offer existing repayment programs to assist distressed borrowers. (Loan rehabilitation programs described in the