Fed governance, digital-asset trust and bank balance-sheet repositioning

Supreme Court preserved Lisa Cook’s Fed seat for now. The ruling lets Cook remain on the Federal Reserve Board while her removal lawsuit continues, preserving near-term Fed board composition but leaving the future removal standard unresolved. The court also allowed presidential removals at other independent agencies, which ABA Banking Journal said may affect the National Credit Union Administration board case.

Morgan Stanley received conditional OCC approval for a digital-asset trust. The Morgan Stanley Digital Trust National Association charter covers custody and related digital-asset transaction services, but the subsidiary must maintain at least $50 million of tier 1 capital and operate as a trust company. Banking Dive also reported that OCC nonobjection is required for changes to the business or directors.

ABA sought clearer mutual-bank Tier 1 capital treatment. The association supported the Federal Reserve’s work on mutual capital certificates but asked for revisions to improve Tier 1 qualification, dividend and redemption flexibility, and template usability for smaller mutual banks as well as larger institutions.

Commerce Bancshares agreed to buy Nolan & Associates. The St. Louis middle-market boutique investment bank deal has an undisclosed price and is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Commerce will also acquire Middle-Market Transactions, adding advisory and capital-markets capabilities to Commerce Bank’s middle-market client strategy.

OceanFirst completed a $1.3 billion NYC multifamily loan sale. The loans were acquired in OceanFirst Bank’s June 1, 2026 Flushing Financial merger. An earlier filing described a $1.4 billion agreement to sell multifamily loans acquired from Flushing Financial, reducing New York rent-regulated exposure, with completion expected by the end of Q2 2026.