While 2022 focused on the “who” of regulation — as the Federal Reserve and FDIC, for example, put decision-makers in place —2023 may well center on the “what.” The CFPB set the tone in December, reaching a record $3.7 billion settlement with Wells Fargo. Expect that regulator to continue showing its stricter side.
December events provided warning shots in two other areas worth following. A Texas hearing on ESG investment by BlackRock and State Street may have felt eerily like a trial. Other states whose leaders are concerned over companies’ fossil-fuel stances may try to escalate the fight as 2023 wears on. Twenty-one Republican attorneys general, for instance, have turned their attention to ward the proxy advisers that recommend how financial company shareholders vote.
And 1,600 December layoffs at Morgan Stanley were just the beginning. In the first month of 2023, Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon and Capital One have similarly indicated they each would make cuts of 1,000 positions or more. It’s not always easy to predict which areas of business the layoffs will affect. Capital One’s job cuts, for example, centered on tech — frequently considered a safes pace.
The push to regulate crypto seemed fervent enough at the end of2021 to warrant mention in last year’s version of this outlook. After the high-profile bankruptcies of FTX, Celsius, BlockFi,  Voyager Digital and now Genesis, regulation may seem even more crucial.
This should make for an exciting 12 months ahead. Hopefully, the pieces Banking Dive has collected here will show how these and other topics could shape 2023. We hope you find them valuable to better serve your customers’ needs.