As a Washingtonian who escaped to Arizona after a successful banking career in the nation’s capital to build and scale a consulting firm, I had the privilege to join the bankers from the Western States in DC recently. I attended various meetings with the ABA and regulatory agencies (OCC, FRB, FDIC, and CFPB) as well as a meeting at the White House with Chairman Jared Bernstein, United States Council of Economic Advisers. What these meetings reminded me is that things have not changed much in Washington.

Government moves slowly, and the Old Ebbitt Grill is still the place to go for lunch. We heard lots of positives from the White House, but there was an undertone of tension between the banking industry and regulators centered on how litigation is bogging things down. Recent lawsuits include challenges to the CFPB’s scope for Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices (UDAAP), changes to a rule implementing the Community Reinvestment Act, the CFPB’s Section 1071 rule on small business lending, and the CFPB’s rule on late fees.

Here’s what I walked away with:

Artificial intelligence. The ABA made an interesting comment: AI is not new, but it has captured the imagination of the consumer, driving this big AI push. The message from the industry to policy makers is to move slowly on AI. But as regulators take interest, banks need to cover their bases from a risk and compliance perspective. The ABA is looking for AI case studies that it can share with regulators. If any of our clients have successful adoption, please let me know, and we will create the case study for you.

Consumer financial data right rule. The CFPB confirmed that the Dodd-Frank Section 1033 open banking rule will be out this month. Interestingly, the CFPB confirmed that it’s not a joint statement with the other regulatory agencies. I did ask for some early tidbits, but did not get a positive response. At this point, we don’t know what the final rule will be or the impact of the rule, but we’ll see how the industry reacts. Should be a fun ride.

Small business loan disclosure rule. It’s taking a long time to implement this rule because it keeps getting tied up in litigation. One of the issues is regulatory burden; the Dodd-Frank Act, specifically Section 1071, states financial institutions are required to collect and report 12 data points. The CFPB in its interpretation has turned that into more than 12 data points. Bankers also aren’t happy with how applicants could be identified because of the degree of public disclosure and are skeptical of its real value to the CFPB collecting this data. The Bank Loan Privacy Act, which has been introduced in the House, would require the CFPB to keep that data private.

Custodial records rule. The FDIC’s rulemaking response to the operational failures surrounding Synapse and its partners is a requirement to maintain records. The proposed new recordkeeping requirements is for custodial deposit accounts with transactional features. What’s the difference between the current and the proposed?