Congress introduces bill for using tech to spot financial stressors. A leading Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee introduced legislation aimed at helping regulators spot financial stress turbocharged by AI and around-the-clock payment systems. November 06, 2026 - Mark Schoeff Jr., CQ-Roll Call (TNS) - A leading Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee introduced legislation Thursday aimed at helping regulators use technology to better spot financial stress turbocharged by artificial intelligence and around-the-clock payment systems. The draft bill, from Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., would require the Federal Reserve to work with other regulators to develop, test and publicly release model software that would improve the ability to assess market conditions in real time and respond quickly to cybersecurity and other threats. The bill is designed to help regulators keep pace with new risks "driven largely by the development of state-of-the-art AI models," according to a summary. The legislation is intended to help regulators provide financing to banks during crises and wind down failing banks. The model software would reduce the amount of manual compliance work that smaller financial institutions would have to do by providing standard data formats for regulatory reporting and tools to manage and transmit the information to regulators, according to a Foster spokesperson. "With advances in AI creating new cybersecurity threats and financial risks, it's more important than ever that we modernize the way we monitor the health of our financial institutions," Foster said in a statement. "We cannot afford to rely on outdated systems to oversee an increasingly complex financial sector." Foster, who has a Ph.D. in physics and has been a leader on AI issues on the Financial Services panel, is in line to become chair of the Financial Institutions Subcommittee next year. He has been mulling a challenge to ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., to chair the full committee in the new Congress. But Foster is now "leaning toward not running," a person familiar with his thinking said. (C) 2026 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Midland Chamber partners with Federal Reserve to gather critical small business data. By Odessa American, Odessa American, Texas The Tribune Content Agency Updated October 28, 2026 7:15 PM Gift Article MIDLAND Midland Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Federal Reserve System to draw responses to the 2026 Small Business Credit Survey, a nationwide effort to better understand the financial challenges and needs of America's small businesses. The annual survey, which runs through November 13, invites owners and key financial decision-makers of for-profit businesses to share their recent experiences with business conditions, financing, and their outlook for the future. The 12-minute confidential survey is open to businesses currently in operation, those recently closed, and those about to launch. The Small Business Credit Survey is conducted annually by all 12 Federal Reserve Banks and in conjunction with more than 100 not-for-profit partners, this year including Midland Chamber of Commerce. The resulting data inform federal government agencies, community development financial institutions, traditional lenders, and policymakers. Past survey findings have been cited in congressional testimony, used to design lending programs, and have helped shape small business support services. The survey is now open to for-profit businesses with fewer than 500 employees across all industries. Responses are completely confidential, and participants do not need to provide personal identifying information. The post Midland Chamber partners with Federal Reserve to gather critical small business data appeared first on Odessa American. This story was originally published October 28, 2026 at 7:05 PM.