Regulators: threats to US financial system remain elevated

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s top financial regulators told Congress Friday that threats to financial stability remain elevated even though the country has recovered from the worst economic shocks stemming from the COVID pandemic. In its annual report on financial system threats, the Financial Stability Oversight Council listed climate change as an emerging risk because of such factors as potential loan losses from floods and forest fires. It was the first time the council’s annual report has highlighted climate change as a risk to the financial system. This year’s report was the first issued by the Biden administration, which has made fighting climate change a top priority including refersing the decision by the Trump administration to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.