Joe Adler

WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will present a broad picture Tuesday morning of how banks and thrifts fared in the third quarter.

WASHINGTON — Regulators closed a bank in Louisiana, and another in Iowa, late Friday to bring the year’s failure total to 90.

The FDIC finished first among large federal agencies in the Partnership for Public Service's 2011 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government survey, with an employee satisfaction rating of 85.9 out of 100.

As in other East Coast cities, residents of the capital have had to adapt to a growing chill in the air. But the change was a little more abrupt for those at Thursday's nomination hearing for the Senate Banking Committee.

WASHINGTON — The nominee to run the Federal Housing Administration Thursday said she opposes extending higher limits on federally-insured loans.

The former Kansas City Fed chief wins bipartisan praise for FDIC Vice Chair slot, while key senator voices support for Senate votes on three agency positions.

Following nomination hearing, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee says Gruenberg, Curry and Hoenig should move "all together."

Financial Services chairman says he never used insider information in making trades, and the market's poor state in 2008 was well-known.

A new book and piece by 60 Minutes have raised issues about whether Rep. Spencer Bachus traded on private information he received from regulators during the financial crisis.

The outcome of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's 'Larger Participant' rule has the potential to level the playing field between the banking industry and an old rival: Wal-Mart.

Some of the biggest champions of the Volcker Rule have complained that the 300-page proposal implementing it is simply too long and complicated. That includes former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker himself, who first suggested the idea of a ban on banks' proprietary trading.

Gruenberg says while regulators should force institutions to lower their risk of failure, having a "credible" system for winding firms down will help level the industry's playing field.

Judge in FDIC lawsuit against former Wamu executives grants parties time to craft out-of-court agreement.

A collection of distinct industry associations claim to speak for large banks on policy issues, in addition to each bank's individual efforts. But could a more focused effort help their message?

A Utah bank linked to an alleged Internet payment scam and an online gambling case was seized by the state late Friday, on a night when regulators also closed a bank in Nebraska.

Washington insiders were momentarily shocked last week when it appeared that President Obama had withdrawn his nomination of former Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Chief Thomas Hoenig for vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The FDIC tries to stay clear of being the agency that closes a bank's doors. But working behind the scenes to guard its insurance fund, the agency is often significantly involved in the decision of when to fail an institution.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Bailout Redux: While the European bailout plan "set off celebrations" in markets throughout the world, many analysts warned that the plan "remains a work in progress," the Post reported. "Key details are uncertain, they say, and a slowing European economy could throw the program off course." The Journal, like a lot of other media, went full tilt on the European bailout agreement even though - or maybe because - a lot of folks are skeptical it will hold up. Yes, Americans are happy everywhere that their 401(k)s shot up with the market Thursday, but it could take "weeks" for negotiators in Europe to tell us the details of (and to figure out themselves) what they have wrought, the Journal said. Not promising was the warning by a European Central Bank official that the deal's "leverage instruments are similar to those which were among the origins of the crisis, because they temporarily masked the risks." The deal relies on "Byzantine financial engineering," another Journal story said. (A note to Scan's Greek friends: that's not a compliment.) A big push is expected. European officials are going to have to sell sovereign markets on the plan, as sovereign bond markets and others reacted cautiously. Some say the European banks got off too easy, yet others speculated the plan might work despite initial shortcomings if it boosts confidence. The Times said German Chancellor Angela Merkel called bankers' bluff, telling them to take the offer on the table of a 50% write-down in the face value of their Greek bond holdings, or bear the consequences of a default. She was willing to risk a credit event that would have thrown world markets into turmoil, and if that happened, she would blame the banks. Critics say the plan may not deliver as much relief to Greece as promised, and that it may not be sufficient to help troubled banks. "It's another patchwork effort," said Richard Cookson, global chief investment officer of Citi Private Bank. The FT looked at China's role in the rescue, and its demands that other countries be involved and its investment be guaranteed. The article quotes French President Nicolas Sarkozy: "Why would we not accept that the Chinese had confidence in the eurozone and place a part of their surpluses in our funds or our banks. Would you rather they placed it with the US?" Ouch!

Fred Joseph, Colorado's banking commissioner, said Community Banks of Colorado should have been able to sell its branches in a bid for more time to resolve its problems. But the FDIC and the Fed overruled him — and then failed the bank.

The Federal Reserve usurps authority usually held by state regulators and fails a Colorado bank.