BankThink

Scott Alvarez, the Federal Reserve Board's general counsel, told lawmakers that the Fed is unlikely to issue clear standards on when it would use Dodd-Frank to take apart big banks that pose a "grave threat" to the economy, each situation would have its own circumstances.

Taking on the size of firms that put our financial system at risk is the only way to eliminate unfair competitive advantages, unleash free markets and allow community banks to thrive.

Bitcoin and similar rogue digital money exploit the public appetite for an alternative to traditional banking. To stave off this threat, central banks should embrace secure, well-regulated digitization of fiat currencies.

Breaking News This Morning ...Earnings: Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Huntington, PNC

Congress can certainly help, but regulators must recognize that they have a structural oversight problem and need to develop remedies on their own.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has offered clarifications to the mortgage rules first issued in January.

While some call Bitcoin an "existential threat to the state," local governments could soon embrace the digital currency and payment system as a practical alternative to credit and debit cards.

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday issued a proposal required under the Dodd-Frank Act that would impose a fee on the biggest bank holding companies. The fee will cover expenses related to the regulators' supervisory duties.

Companies that submitted initial resolution plans last year to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. under Dodd-Frank have been offered more detailed instructions for when they submit their second drafts of their living wills.

Publication of the Fed's loss estimates, required by Dodd-Frank, has banks focused on second-guessing the regulator's model, rather than the hard work of improving enterprise risk management.