Information provided to members by OGR.

​Washington enters a pivotal week as lawmakers race to advance major legislative priorities before the Senate departs for a two-week recess. National security, government funding, housing affordability, energy costs, and key defense legislation are all competing for attention, creating a crowded agenda that could have significant implications for businesses, consumers, and the broader economy.

​​Congress also is closely monitoring the fallout from the administration's recent Memorandum of Understanding with Iran and regional partners. Debate surrounding the agreement, combined with the expiration of FISA Section 702 surveillance authorities, is expected to dominate conversations on Capitol Hill. At the same time, appropriators in both chambers continue work on Fiscal Year 2027 spending bills while lawmakers prepare amendments to the annual National Defense Authorization Act.

Affordability remains a bipartisan focus. Congress appears poised to advance legislation addressing housing costs, while lawmakers are also considering measures aimed at managing rising electricity prices and the impact of growing energy demand. These issues have become increasingly important political priorities as both parties seek solutions to ongoing cost-of-living concerns.

Meanwhile, closely watched primary elections in New York and Maryland could influence the ideological direction of the House Democratic Caucus. The outcomes may shape future policy debates on issues ranging from foreign policy to financial regulation and economic policy.

IPA members receive OGR's full weekly analysis, including detailed legislative intelligence, election insights, committee activity, and policy developments impacting the payments ecosystem. For more in-depth information and exclusive advocacy resources, join the Innovative Payments Association at www.ipa.org/join.

Information provided to members by OGR.

As Washington enters a pivotal stretch before the August recess, policymakers are navigating a complex mix of international developments, budget negotiations, surveillance authority debates, and election-year politics. Recent geopolitical events, including a proposed cease-fire agreement involving Iran and ongoing discussions among G7 leaders, are expected to influence both foreign policy and legislative priorities in the weeks ahead.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate takes center stage while the House is in recess. Lawmakers face a packed agenda that includes nominations, intelligence and surveillance policy discussions, appropriations negotiations, and efforts to advance key legislation before the summer break. Deep divisions over federal spending levels, defense funding, and broader fiscal priorities continue to complicate progress on several major initiatives.

At the same time, political dynamics are beginning to intensify as primary elections and runoff contests unfold across several states. These races could have significant implications for congressional leadership, party strategy, and the balance of power heading into the November elections.

For payments companies, financial institutions, fintechs, and other stakeholders, understanding these developments is critical. Legislative activity, regulatory priorities, and shifts in political leadership often influence the policy environment that shapes innovation, compliance, and business operations.

IPA members receive OGR's full "Big Picture" analysis each week, providing deeper insights into the legislative, regulatory, and political developments impacting the payments ecosystem. For more detailed information and exclusive policy analysis, join the Innovative Payments Association today at www.ipa.org/join.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is working to ensure that banks will no longer be deputy regulators.
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In the past, banks have often found themselves deputized by the regulators to address concerns both inside and outside of banking. Perhaps the most famous example of this was “Operation Choke Point” that ran from 2013-2017. Banks were encouraged by examiners to avoid doing business in tobacco, firearms, and fossil fuels, for example on the basis of “reputational risk.” In an article in Compliance and Enforcement, lawyers from Davis Wright Tremain LLP point out that this was a departure from the “CAMELS (Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity and Sensitivity [to interest rate changes]) rating system, created in 1979.”

In February, Comptroller Jonathan Gould testified at a hearing in the Senate Banking Committee that the agency was moving away from including reputational risk as part of the examination process.

“We have also proposed a rule to eliminate reputation risk from supervision, a tool too often used to debank politically disfavored individuals or groups. We are intent on ensuring banks provide access to banking products and services based on individualized, objective, risk-based criteria, not politics or ideology,” Gould testified.

As in all things, the devil could be in the details on this. If the regulators began hunting for “debanking” as violation, then the pendulum could swing the other way as potential clients cry foul whenever a bank declines to work with them or offer them a loan. Institutions still need to be able to refuse business that doesn’t fit with their risk profile without the fear of “debanking” violations being used as a cudgel to force them to accept businesses.

In a cocktail hour conversation at the recent Innovative payments Conference, one bank lawyer explained to me that she had thought this through. The key for banks will be to explain why a particular business is not a right fit for the bank based on the banks’ risk profile, staffing levels to monitor loans, or similar bank-focused criteria.

When Comptroller Gould spoke at our conference, he also said that the OCC would no longer rely on banks to police every third party that touches the banking system. He said it was inappropriate for regulators to force third parties to do what the regulators want them to do.

Instead, he said that the regulators would be using their powers to supervise fintechs directly.

While it is rare for banking regulators to go after third-party partners directly, it is not without precedent.

In 2013, the FDIC imposed a consent order and civil money penalty on Achieve Financial Services, saying that it had the authority to do so because Achieve was an institution-affiliated party of its issuing bank.
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An “institution-affiliated party” of a bank under the Section 1813(u) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act includes “any independent contractor (including any attorney, appraiser, or accountant)” that could violate a banking law. The act gives “the appropriate federal banking agency” the right to take actions against institution-affiliated parties directly.
Fintechs and other bank parties should be on notice that the regulators are looking their way. Compliance is an essential part of financial services, not just a check-the-box exercise.

Information provided to members by OGR.

Washington enters another consequential week with lawmakers facing a crowded agenda and increasingly visible political divisions. Republican leaders in both the House and Senate are working to advance key legislative priorities while managing internal disagreements, a challenge made more difficult by competing policy demands and a rapidly evolving political environment.

Several issues will serve as important tests of congressional leadership in the days ahead. Debates surrounding the reauthorization of FISA Section 702 surveillance authorities, continued reconciliation efforts, and labor-related legislation are highlighting the complex dynamics shaping Capitol Hill. At the same time, primary elections and shifting political alliances are creating additional uncertainty as both parties look ahead to the November elections.
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In the Senate, lawmakers are balancing national security priorities, appropriations work, and confirmation votes, while House leaders face growing challenges in maintaining party unity on several high-profile issues. Committees in both chambers are also advancing legislation that could have long-term implications across multiple sectors of the economy, including financial services, technology, and digital assets.

For payments companies, fintechs, banks, and other stakeholders, these developments offer important signals about the policy environment taking shape in Washington. Legislative priorities, regulatory oversight, digital asset policy, and broader economic debates all remain in flux as Congress navigates a particularly active summer agenda.

Additional analysis, insights, and legislative updates are available exclusively to IPA members through the association's government relations resources. To learn more about IPA membership, visit www.ipa.org/join.