Law and regulation

It is going take some time before it comes to fruition, but the Federal Housing Finance Agency got the ball rolling Tuesday on pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin purchasing manufactured housing loans.

Of the five banks that failed their living will tests earlier this year and were forced to resubmit plans, only Wells Fargo failed again, resulting in immediate regulatory action that will restrict its growth, including its ability to expand internationally and buy nonbank subsidiaries.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency finalized a rule Tuesday that will create a "duty to serve" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help low- and moderate- income consumers, including encouraging a secondary market for manufactured housing loans.

Judicial review of regulators' economic analyses can help validate whether a rule will solve a real problem at a reasonable cost.

WASHINGTON – Due to its declining receivership responsibilities, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday that it will again reduce its operating budget for fiscal year 2017.

The payments messaging network Swift has told its client banks that the threat of cyberattacks "is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated — and it is here to stay."

The California Department of Insurance launched an investigation Monday into allegations that Wells Fargo employees signed up consumers for Prudential Insurance policies without their authorization.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve is accepting applications for a compliance extension for banks to divest or otherwise align certain proprietary illiquid assets with the Volcker Rule.

A former director at Pinnacle Financial Partners who pleaded guilty to insider trading agreed to pay a heftier fine after a judge rejected the initial penalty as being too low.

Industry observers worry that the Dodd-Frank Act's Title II — which gives the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. authority to oversee the resolution of a complex financial institution — could be the first thing under fire when the Trump administration undertakes financial reform.

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators on Monday finalized a rule that lowers the barriers for banks to qualify for extended examination cycles

While other banking laws may be headed to the chopping block, the Community Reinvestment Act can address the needs of communities defined by their economic struggles.

Manufactured housing advocates are "guardedly optimistic" that the Federal Housing Finance Agency will soon issue a long-awaited final rule that they hope will expand the secondary market for mobile homes.

Federal banking regulators are dismissing claims that they are pressuring banks to cut ties with payday lenders, arguing that the lenders' recent request for a court order against the agencies rests on erroneous speculation and bad legal arguments.

A week after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency created a new federal charter for fintech firms, California's financial regulator is calling on other states to work together in making their licensing system more palatable to companies.

WASHINGTON – Gary Cohn, president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs, has been offered the job of director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration, several news outlets reported Friday.

As regulators open the door to fintech firms applying for bank charters, what has already been a long journey to this point is only going to get more intense.

Despite gains for the legalization effort in the November election, the disconnect between federal and state law preserves uncertainty for banks catering to pot businesses.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan duo of House lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would push Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to engage in more credit risk-sharing transactions.