Steven Sloan

The Federal Reserve Board's recent decisions to enhance consumer protection regulation and crack down on industry compensation practices do not appear to be assauging critics in Congress.

The Federal Reserve Board's recent decisions to enhance consumer protection regulation and crack down on industry compensation practices do not appear to be assauging critics in Congress.

Though the role of the Federal Reserve Board is among the most contentious provisions of the Obama administration's prescription for regulatory reform, the central bank was the only regulator absent from Wednesday's hearing in the House.

Despite signs that "activity in the housing sector has increased," the Federal Reserve Board's policymaking committee said Wednesday that it would continue to purchase debt and mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into next year.

With the industry's compensation practices once again in the limelight, banking regulators moved forward Monday with aggressive plans to clamp down on pay packages.

Borrowing from the Federal Reserve Board's discount window and other lending facilities continues to decline thanks to "continued improvements in financial conditions," the central bank said Friday.

At the first public meeting of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, panel members split among party lines over whether Congress should await the panel's December 2010 report before moving ahead with regulatory reform.

Lending through the Federal Reserve Board's discount window grew 5.1% during the past week, to $111.9 billion.

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Lawmakers wary of quickly enacting reform could point to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which holds its first public meeting today, and argue that Congress should await the panel's December 2010 final report before acting.

WASHINGTON — Trying to prove it takes its consumer protection role seriously, the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday said it would begin examining potentially hundreds of nonbank subsidiaries of bank holding companies for compliance with the same rules as their parent firms.

Regulators are poised to release data this week pointing to a record number of syndicated loans experiencing a decline in credit quality.

Ahead of its first hearing this week, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission named Thomas Greene its executive director Monday.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Elizabeth Duke sharply criticized key aspects of a pending accounting proposal that would expose a bank's assets and liabilities — including loans held to maturity and deposits — to fair-value treatment.

Congress continues to pad Geithner's resume; no one wants to talk about future of Fannie and Freddie; N.Y. Fed should not expect favorable treatment from Wall Street 2.

Lending through the Federal Reserve Board's discount window fell nearly 2% during the past week, to $106.4 billion.

WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office entered into the debate over the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Thursday, blistering some of the most widely discussed options for revamping the government-sponsored enterprises.

Residential real estate markets continue to bounce back from the doldrums of the recession, according to a Federal Reserve report released Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — A Treasury Department proposal to raise capital requirements for all banks could give some large institutions an incentive to walk away from their investment banking units.

When thinking about where the economy is heading, top Federal Reserve Board officials might look to the teachings of John Maynard Keynes, Adam Smith or Walter Bagehot. But Richard Fisher, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, apparently channels singer and actress Dolly Parton.