Jeff Horwitz

New York's Attorney General charged Bank of America and Wells Fargo with hundreds of cases of failure to comply with the national mortgage servicing settlement recently. The claims made for lots headlines but may prove a non-starter in court.

California accused JPMorgan of illegal tactics to sue thousands of credit card borrowers behind on their debts, including "robo-signing."

Operations Risk has become a buzzword among bankers and regulators lately. Unfortunately, repackaging mainstream management duties as a discrete discipline could do more harm than good.

The government must act to reform Fannie and Freddie before the refinancing boom comes to a close, says the president of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Even without legislative action, policymakers can improve oversight and invite private insurance capital back into the market.

New York's attorney general blasted Wells Fargo and Bank of America for "flagrantly" disregarding their promises to help homeowners under last year's 49-state mortgage servicing pact.

Wells Fargo and Bank of America have serially violated the terms of the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman alleged on Monday.

To avoid unwanted scrutiny from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators, banks need to start thinking about "what is fair, not just what is legal," banking attorneys say.

Regulators' plans to force banks to consider a borrower's ability to repay small-dollar, short-term advances on their direct deposits and limit the frequency of borrowing would likely upend current business practices.

The settlement, which follows an earlier deal with market leader Assurant, will prevent the insurers from giving banks commissions, free services, and reinsurance deals in order to win their business.

The Pittsburgh company's incoming chief executive, Bill Demchak, promised to follow the strategy laid out by current CEO Jim Rohr and avoid a race to the bottom for commercial loans.

Poorly written regulations from the Department of Housing and Urban Development are at the crux of a force-placed insurance fight between lenders and homeowners, federal judges declared at a hearing earlier this month.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is pressing large banks like Citi, B of A and JPMorgan to provide investors with more accurate information about structured notes, complex securities that are often sold to wealthy individuals.

Banks used to sell payment protection and identity theft protection products as a way for customers to protect themselves from criminals and unexpected mishaps. Now Barclays is telling U.S. card customers they're just "products you don't need."

Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's inspector general are taking a hard look at the bills the government mortgage giant receives from servicers who maintain foreclosed properties. If controls are found to be lax, servicers will likely face a clampdown.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...A Goldman Specialty: Today was a morning of scattered financial coverage: the only story to be covered by more than one outlet is a Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealing that Goldman Sachs will launch a specialty finance company. The vehicle will use Goldman and investor money to purchase the high-risk debt of unrated midsized US companies, but don't call that prop trading – it's a business development corporation! And under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, it qualifies as an "emerging growth company" which doesn't need to comply with a full slate of financial reporting rules. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times

The U.S. Treasury was unprepared and disengaged in two rushed Troubled Asset Relief Program bankruptcy sales. It's a foreboding sign for the remaining $6.6 billion the government has tied up in Tarp.

In an abrupt policy announcement, the Federal Housing Finance Agency declared Tuesday plans to ban force-placed insurance commissions even before its own industry review is complete.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Cyprus Bailout: Remember that time back in college when your professor told you your score on the final exam would be the entirety of your grade, so you sort of blew off those little quizzes he gave throughout the semester? And how you ended up panicking a few days before the test, staying up all night on coffee or something stronger, and miraculously pulled off a B-minus?

A settlement between New York and the nation's largest force-placed insurer will kill bank commissions in the state and could dramatically alter the structure of the specialty insurance industry.

To settle a New York state probe of alleged collusion and price gouging by banks and insurers, the country's largest force-placed insurance company will lower its rates and cease making payments to banks.