Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, FINANCIAL STABILITY—Administration ‘uncertainty’ poses risks, compliance managers tell ABA Banking Journal, (Aug 28, 2025)

By Nora Macaluso

Financial policies, proposed regulatory changes, and court cases bear watching, financial professionals say.

The “uncertainty” created by rapidly changing Trump administration policies is posing challenges for many businesses. While banks may be positively affected by some of those policies, they should nevertheless be on “risk alert,” an article in the ABA Banking Journal says.

The journal interviewed financial and risk-management experts about the challenges posed by broad uncertainties such as interest rates and regulatory changes, including a revamp of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and changes to capital requirements. Their comments were reported in an article, “Volatility and regulatory risk ramp up under new administration,” published on the American Bankers Association’s website.

Banks, sensing volatility, are trying to “keep tail risks in mind and interest-rate risk as close to neutral as they can, so they have the bandwidth to handle what could be coming down the pike,” Todd Cuppia, head of the balance sheet risk management practice for Chatham Financial’s financial institutions team, told the publication.

Stephanie Lyon, senior vice president of compliance at Ncontracts, told the journal that banks need to track legal developments as well as regulatory ones. “Banks must stay informed about decisions regulators are making outside the regulatory process itself, including court decisions and legal filings,” she was quoted as saying. As an example, she pointed to a court’s recent ruling that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could not cap credit card late fees at $8. The Bureau declined to challenge the ruling.

Major rules like the CRA are up for review, though it is not clear when changes might take effect or whether they will survive court challenges or be overturned in a future administration, the journal report said. Banks should not “overcorrect” in anticipation of changes, Lyon told the publication.

The ABA Banking Journal report says the October release of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Fiscal Year 2026 Bank Supervision Operating Plan may give “a clearer picture of banking regulators’ regulatory-rule priorities and timetable.”

Companies: American Bankers Association; Chatham Financial; Ncontracts, LLC

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