President-elect Joe Biden says he will ask Congress to act swiftly to provide $1.9 trillion in immediate relief to help the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The package includes aid to states and cities, additional unemployment benefits, larger direct payments to Americans and a minimum wage increase.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has formalized a rule that prohibits banks from refusing to offer loans or other services to firms in potentially controversial industries. The banking industry largely opposes the rule, finalized shortly before Brian Brooks' departure as acting comptroller of the currency.

JPMorgan Chase has reported $12.1 billion in fourth-quarter net income, or $3.79 in earnings per share, up from $2.57 per share in Q4 of 2019 and well past analysts' expectation of $2.62 per share. The jump is attributed to strength in trading and investment banking.

Modern Money Murmurs: Talk about a tough act for Citi and Wells Fargo to follow.

The Treasury Department has decided not to take any action on removing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government conservatorship before the Trump administration ends. The Biden administration is not expected to take action on re-privatizing the firms.

Investors in China have spent a net $15.8 billion buying Hong Kong-listed shares of firms hit by a US investment ban. The amount invested this year through the Stock Connect trading link has reached almost 90% of a record set in March.

Investors allocated a record $762.9 billion to exchange-traded funds last year, taking assets in the sector to a record $8 trillion worldwide, according to data from ETFGI.

Goldman Sachs is partnering with digital payments firm Marqeta to offer checking accounts through its consumer banking unit, Marcus. Marqeta's technology will help the bank provide virtual debit cards and allow customers to tap real-time information about their spending.

US banks face a challenging earnings season as the outlook for 2021 remains uncertain. Although government support for the economy and robust trading revenue have shielded banks from the worst fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, analysts expect fourth-quarter reports to show earnings under pressure and rising impairment costs.

Wall Street is bracing for tough regulation as expectations grow that President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Gary Gensler to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. As chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Gensler sought to rein in derivatives trading with aggressive rulemaking and enforcement actions.

Fitch Group has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum for credit-research firm CreditSights. The deal, which needs regulatory approval, would enhance Fitch's debt-research coverage.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank has no intention of tightening US monetary policy or paring back its bond-buying program any time soon. Powell said that now is "not the time" to think about ending central bank support for the economy given that inflation and employment are tracking below target.

An average of 30 million equity options contracts traded daily on exchanges in 2020, up more than 50% compared with 2019, and that figure has risen past 40 million in recent weeks, according to Options Clearing. The flood of trading shows no signs of abating as technology makes it easier for retail investors to purchase options.

Supporters of President Donald Trump can still send donations to his campaign via Stripe – they just can't do it directly. Although the firm blocked direct payments to the campaign following last week's Capitol Hill riot, indirect payments through intermediaries are still being sent.

Unemployment claims rose sharply to 965,000 last week, the highest figure since August. The increase is attributed to ongoing fallout from the coronavirus crisis.

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the US, SmartBrief will not publish Monday. Publication will resume Tuesday.