Joe Adler

Sitting down with American Banker, incoming American Bankers Association CEO Rob Nichols discussed the need for industry unity, banking's convergence with the technology sector and the regulatory relief fight, among other issues.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau won a preliminary court injunction against several companies that the agency says ran a "debt-relief scheme" that imposed "exorbitant, illegal" fees on consumers, the agency said Tuesday.

The Justice Department's announcement that it would target individual executives at banks and other companies that are being investigated for wrongdoing has sparked a debate about whether the move is actually substantive or instead just designed to boost the agency's public image.

Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said banks could consider loan-to-value ratios above 90% to help revitalize areas hurt by the housing crisis.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a busy agenda for the fall that includes possible action on debt collection and prepaid cards, though the agency's overall workload may cause delays.

With summer recess ending, banking agencies are about to embark on a busy policymaking schedule leading up to the end of the year.

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finishes regulations dealing with mortgage data reporting, a similar set of requirements for small business loans is waiting in the wings.

WASHINGTON — Two California companies allegedly sold pension advance loans that they claimed were not credit products but in fact charged usurious interest rates, according to a lawsuit brought Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and New York regulators.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Springstone Financial, acquired last year by Lending Club, misled borrowers into thinking loans carried zero interest.

Banks that sold faulty mortgage-backed securities right before the crisis have suffered a string of legal defeats over the timing of government lawsuits, but some experts believe the industry may still have a shot in the Supreme Court.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is trying to "supercharge" its process for reviewing financial innovations in an effort to keep pace with a glut of new products inside and outside the banking system.

While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has not deviated from a 2013 paper outlining a method for unwinding a giant firm, the agency has appeared to fine-tune its approach in significant ways.

WASHINGTON — Three nonbank giants designated for tougher federal supervision received added guidance Tuesday on what regulators expect to see in the companies' mandated resolution plans.

Key proponents and critics of the 2010 financial reform law commemorated its anniversary by keeping the debate over its legacy front and center.

Key proponents and critics of the 2010 financial reform law commemorated its anniversary by keeping the debate over its legacy front and center.

Final guidelines for dealing with failing institutions from the international Basel Committee include direct capital injections — something the Dodd-Frank Act tried to end in the U.S. — as a last-ditch option.

The Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility said it found no support for allegations that federal lawyers wrongly pursued legal online payday lenders and forced banks to cut ties with legitimate businesses.

While hiring a chief risk officer is a given at the big banks, smaller institutions must weigh several factors and options in determining the risk leadership model that works for them.

Twelve of the largest financial firms provided more information than they did last year in the public versions of their plans for breaking themselves up in a financial catastrophe, but whether they have done enough to reassure regulators won't be known for months.

Cyber threats or fraud may present bigger direct risks to banks, but many chief risk officers spend enormous amounts of time on the more tangible concern of keeping up with ever-growing regulatory expectations and requirements.