Joe Adler

The selection of Tim Pawlenty as the Financial Services Roundtable's new CEO was a shock to those inside and outside Washington. We answer frequently asked questions about why he was chosen and what it means for the Roundtable — and the industry.

After being named head of the Financial Services Roundtable on Thursday, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty laid out his agenda for the trade group, saying banks need to do more to police themselves.

FDIC board member Thomas Hoenig said bankers do not fully appreciate the public's rebuke of their industry or the market advantages big banks still enjoy over their competitors.

New HMDA data show FHA- and VA-supported loans holding a huge share of the market as overall home loans and refis are still on the decline.

Although Federal Housing Administration-backed loans showed a downward trickle last year, federal mortgage insurance still makes up a sizeable chunk of the housing market, new government data said Tuesday.

With just three and a half months left until 2013, regulators are under pressure to release a boatload of new regulations, including some of the most contentious items on their plate.

The FDIC is trying to help bankers prep for exams and more clearly understand the results as part of a broader effort at improving relations, Martin Gruenberg, the agency's acting Chairman, said.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. warned banks under its watch Wednesday about the risks of acquiring participations in loans while relying too heavily on originating institutions for the underwriting.

The FDIC highlighted continued use of "alternative financial services" in its second-ever survey reporting the share of households that are unbanked or underbanked.

Although creditors could lose money in FDIC wind-downs of large firms authorized by the Dodd-Frank Act, many of them may own a piece of the startup that emerges from the failed company's ashes.

Agency is reviewing exam and rule-writing policies to explore ways to make regulation more efficient for community banks.

WASHINGTON — State regulators closed First Commercial Bank in Bloomington, Minn., late Friday in the industry's 41st failure this year.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. next week will unveil the latest national estimates of who is unbanked in this country.

Following the regulator's designation of larger consumer reporting companies for supervision, the CFPB said examiners will assess the accuracy of credit reports and how companies disclose information to consumers about credit scores.

Transaction Account Guarantee program was voluntary when it began. Why not make it optional for banks again?

Programs to strengthen bank liquidity, facilitate credit and buy mortgages were good moves, though it is hard to say how much worse things would have been in their absence, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said at the Jackson Hole summit.

FDIC's Quarterly Banking Profile shows broad improvements in the number of institutions making more loans. But with rock-bottom interest rates squeezing margins, banks yet again looked toward reduced loss provisions to drive earnings.

The banking industry earned $34.5 billion in the second quarter as continued declines in loan loss expenses outpaced a reduction in net interest margins, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

With credit quality still improving in corporate loans shared by multiple banks, the financial industry produced the first increase in shared credits in three years. Yet deterioration is still higher than norms.

The agency discusses recent steps by financial institutions to participate in healthy-food investment cooperatives, and says lenders could earn Community Reinvestment Act credit for spurring such activities in areas that need it.