Weekly Global News Wrap: US to name new bank regulator supervisor; Deutsche urged to tighten money laundering watch

And investors doubt Canadian banks' commitment to emissions targets.

From Reuters

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to name a new supervisor for a major banking regulator that Democrats say was too friendly to large banks under the Trump administration, sources say.

She is expected to name Michael Hsu as the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which regulates the country’s large banks. Hsu is currently associate director of the Fed’s bank supervision and regulation division.

The move will allow the Biden administration to overhaul the leadership of the agency, which Democrats say has not done enough to protect consumers.

From CNBC

The German financial regulator BaFin has ordered Deutsche Bank to enact further safeguards to prevent money laundering, a blow to the nation’s largest lender as it tries to repair its reputation.

BaFin said in a brief statement that it wanted improved controls particularly regarding “regular customer reviews,” applying also to correspondent banking and the monitoring of transactions.

The news comes on the heels of a good week for Deutsche as it posted its best quarterly profit in seven years and its share price surged to the highest level in three years.

From Reuters

Canadian banks’ commitments to “net-zero financed emissions” by 2050 have drawn doubts from many investors, given the lack of a defined goal, details and their continued support for oil and gas companies.

The situation highlights the largely Canadian quandary faced by both parties. Even in their quest to shrink financing for big emission-producers, banks cannot withdraw from an industry that accounts for about a tenth of the economy.

Over the past five months, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal have announced plans for net-zero emissions, but lacked details including a definition of that goal, interim reduction targets and plans to move away from traditional energy sources.