Dodd-Frank

The Republican-led House approved a bill Thursday evening that would drastically alter the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Chances are remote that Congress will pass a big bank tax into law this year, but House Republicans' sudden embrace of the idea suggests it has staying power.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board will release the results of the latest round of stress testing exercises of the largest U.S. banks next month, the agency said Tuesday.

Recently released transcripts of Federal Reserve meetings during the last financial crisis reflect how blind policymakers remained to what was unfolding even at its peak. That suggests the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s efforts to sound an early warning next time around are reminiscent of Charlie Brown hoping Lucy won’t pull away the football.

Risk is like water, seeking the path of least resistance. If the path is narrowed, risk does not necessarily evaporate, as regulators wish, but often focuses as a more concentrated force. Accepting this alternative concept of risk has far-reaching policy consequences.

The chamber is scheduled to consider legislation this week that would drastically alter the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Regulators are facing mounting pressure from lawmakers and the financial industry to address ongoing concerns about the treatment of collateralized loan obligations under the Dodd-Frank Act, which critics warn could effectively destroy the market.

Continued focus on this single, but complex Dodd-Frank provision will distract bank managers and regulators from finding ways to make the global financial system healthier.

Prohibiting future ownership of unstable CLOs is probably a good thing. Forcing a select group of banks, however, to sell these assets over a short time is not the optimal solution.

Bankers, industry representatives and other experts largely praise the FDIC's plan to unwind troubled behemoths, but suggest a host of issues that the agency needs to address before it can ensure the end of "too big to fail."

How the central bank will apply bank-centered rules to systemically important financial institutions is one of the biggest unanswered questions of the post-financial crisis regulatory system.

Steven Antonakes, the CFPB's deputy director, gave a speech which indicated the agency has shifted to a hard-line stance regarding compliance with a new mortgage servicing rule that went into effect last month. "Business as usual has ended in the mortgage servicing industry," he said.

Pressured by overseas governments and institutions, the Fed nevertheless stayed the course in finalizing tough new rules for roughly 100 foreign banks doing business in the U.S. — a sign that the central bank's emphasis remains on national stability over international cooperation.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is allowing the public an extra month to weigh in on the agency's strategic plan for unwinding failed behemoths.

The Federal Reserve Board is set to alter its strategy for supervising foreign banks in the U.S., making it somewhat less onerous for smaller global institutions.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent risk management proposal is tougher than institutions expected and would give the agency greater leeway to punish a firm it feels is not up to snuff.

It took a few hours for lawmakers to ask the perennial question to Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen that is apparently required for every regulator testifying on Capitol Hill: Did the Dodd-Frank Act end "too big to fail"?

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J. skipped peppering Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on monetary policy on Tuesday, focusing instead on a critical role that has remained left unfilled on the board: a formal overseer of bank regulation.

The collateralized loan market has backed off of deals involving bonds until lawmakers and regulators address the Volcker Rule's impact on such instruments. Most hope for clarification or grandfathering to stave off a massive sell-off.

Banks are looking at a regulatory plan to dramatically expand the data collected on mortgages as a potential ally in their battle to ease separate rules that they say will curb access to credit.