Law and regulation

In response to repeated charges from Republicans that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act enshrines too-big-to-fail policies, Barney Frank issued a paper analyzing how the legislation ends them.

Dodd Frank 1073, which covers remittances and U.S. initiated international payments, is one of more than two dozen payments related rules or regulations either issued in 2012 or with a pending deadline during the next year, which cover most payment types.

Although the consumer bureau is appearing closer to a final plan on defining 'qualified mortgages,' neither lenders nor consumer groups seem very satisfied.

Former FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair called Elizabeth Warren a "friend," who "would be a good senator."

Vikram Pandit may have saved Citigroup, but he was never a natural fit as its long-term leader. Now the board is betting Michael Corbat, a company lifer, has the chops.

If your bank is gung-ho to issue prepaid cards, think again. Focus on how to retain checking account customers, rather than emulating Green Dot and Chase and issuing fee-based "prepaid cards" as a new (already outdated) product.

Some Oklahomans may be thankful their state crafted its own settlement with the nation's biggest banks over foreclosure practices following the housing bust.

The CFPB may have found a middle way on the safe harbor vs. "rebuttable presumption" debate in the forthcoming "qualified mortage standard. Lenders might get protection from lawsuits about ability-to-pay considerations, but only when the interest rate is in an average range

The Massachusetts Democrat released an analysis late Monday defending the Dodd-Frank reform law, arguing it sufficiently addressed "too big to fail" institutions and taking issue with criticism Mitt Romney made during the first presidential debate.

The process for assigning Legal Entity Identifiers is causing conflict on the global regulatory scene. At issue: Who gets to assign them? Some folks are just glad the CFTC is rolling ahead with a plan, but members of the official implementation group have concerns about how it might hinder broad adoption.

A report from the CFPB's ombudsman found that problems endemic to mortgage servicing are prevalent in student loan servicing as well.

Bankers question the fairness of some compliance penalties charged by the Small Business Lending Fund, which added 3% to its returns through June 30.

Without one, community banks will face increased risk of litigation they cannot afford. This could push many of them out of the mortgage market.

The Dodd-Frank Act puts lots of new requirements on hedge funds. Are the new regulations cramping fund managers' style? A new survey says no, and that the funding industry is "adjusting well."

The gap between consumer and secondary market mortgage rates has blown out to a 12-year high, as this interactive graphic shows. Lenders have trouble explaining what will replace mortgage earnings once production fizzles, however.

Committees serving an independent organization seeking to help the U.S. payments industry prepare for its conversion to EMV smartcard and contactless technology have begun examining key aspects of the transition.

Former FDIC chairman Sheila Bair wants to ban the revolving door and, moreover, believes bank examiners should be required to make a lifelong commitment to the profession. Not everyone agrees with this prescription.

While Comptroller Tom Curry made it clear that regulators will not back down from a push for higher capital levels, he suggested the agencies are considering other ways to reduce the burden of the Basel III proposal for community banks.

Thousands of individuals who paid 20 percent fees to collection agency Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson could be affected by a ruling last week to certify a class-action suit against the firm.

The complexity of Basel III is irrelevant to 90% of U.S. banks and should not be imposed on them. If rejecting the rules altogether is not considered politically feasible, a sensible alternative would be to simply exempt all community banks from its requirements.