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Independent brokers such as Phillips and Robinson are feeling spied on, muzzled and flat-out disrespected as brokerages struggle to keep regulators happy and brands intact. That said, broker-dealers may be have a point; a clutch of them have been sued or fined into oblivion for selling products that were, at best, too risky for their buyers.

A decade of pushing to make disclosures by registered investment advisers more user-friendly may now be paying off, although, as with similar reforms in the past, investors will need to make time to read them.

New FHFA Director Mark Calabria isn't just charting a future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but also fixing problems resulting from the "qualified mortgage" exemption for the GSEs and taking a "deep dive" into problems in the mortgage servicing market.

The two banks’ CEOs used a public hearing to argue their merger will be a boon for underserved markets. But other speakers warned that bank consolidation hurts communities.

Blue Lion Capital, which has been critical of the Seattle company in recent years, has nominated two individuals to become directors.

The SEC and other regulatory agencies have raised the environmental, social and governance ante. Financial institutions will need to find a way to chip in before the stakes are raised even higher.  

The claim that these arrangements are unregulated is inaccurate, and instead, more oversight would destroy the benefits of banks working with fintechs on consumer products.

Leaders who set clear expectations do not create hostile settings. If anything, good people are motivated knowing what they do is noticed and matters.