Law and regulation

HSBC said it's likely to face criminal charges from U.S. anti-money laundering probes and the cost of a settlement may "significantly" exceed the $1.5 billion the bank has already set aside.

The SEC asked Groupon to explain its accounting for coupon refunds and other aspects of its business after the daily deal site revised 2011 results and disclosed a “material weakness” in its financial controls. Groupon recently entered the payments industry by offering a mobile card reader for Groupon merchants.

Regulators closed the $225 million-asset Heritage Bank of Florida in Lutz, and the $924 million-asset Citizens First National Bank in Princeton, Ill. The two failures were estimated to cost the FDIC a combined $111 million.

International Bancshares in Laredo, Texas, has redeemed another chunk of the money it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The California Department of Financial Institutions has lifted a memorandum of understanding against Hanmi Bank after the Los Angeles institution's condition improved.

Under the OCC, a complex foreclosure review process is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to administrators and advertisements. Critics charge that banks and homeowners would be far better served by a simpler program.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put out its first issue of "Supervisory Highlights," which provides an overview of issues that have emerged in examinations by the agency.

Fears about spikes in tax rates could lead a number of capital-heavy bank to consider one-time plans to return capital to shareholders.

The industry has asked the CFPB to delay the effective date for a rule expanding disclosures for remittance transfers.

When the OCC took over supervising thrifts, we evaluated the model being used and determined the cost to keep it viable was not justified. Superior interest rate risk models are available from dozens of vendors.

Liberty Bancorp in Georgia is barred from making payments to shareholders and certain debtholders without regulatory approval.

Regions Financial (RF) will redeem roughly $345 million in trust-preferred securities using proceeds from a recent preferred stock offering.

The banking unit of 1st Colonial Bancorp (FCOB) in Collingswood, N.J., has converted to a state charter and changed its name.

While ICBA supports further study, we hope Congress will come to the conclusion that it should never have been proposed for financial institutions that have no international exposures or are not of a certain size.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Housing Finance Agency announced plans to create a new mortgage database, more comprehensive and streamlined than existing state and federal ones, to guide policy decisions.

Wells Fargo contends that a federal lawsuit over its lending practices before and after the housing crisis contravenes the terms of the multistate mortgage settlement.

Of the eight U.S. banks that must face a capital surcharge under Basel III, only Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase have to pay the highest current level of 2.5%.

A group of some of the nation’s largest merchants and retail trade groups asked a federal judge Thursday to reject the proposed settlement of a lawsuit over credit card swipe fees.

Parkmobile USA, which had drawn fire for suggesting the debit interchange cap was behind its fee increase for D.C. customers, on Thursday issued an apology for the statement.

Independent foreclosure reviews at the major banks were meant to compensate wronged homeowners and restore some faith in the integrity of mortgage servicing. Instead, the process has become mired in questions of objectivity.