Law and regulation

Small-bank executives sound call for stronger firewalls between financial activities, but many say a straight return to the Depression-era law could have unintended consequences, including to their own business.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors issued a statement Wednesday opposing the proposed Basel III rules, calling them "highly reactionary" and damaging to the banking system.

In an agency-wide email Tuesday, the comptroller responds to Bair's comments in her new book, Bull by the Horns.

A judge's decision to vacate the Commodities Futures Trading Commission's rule on position limits for derivates undermines all Dodd-Frank implementation efforts, writes an op-ed contributor to The Street.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said he would consider limiting the size of the home mortgage deduction to help pay for an overall reduction in tax rates.

The Fed and merchants faced tough questions in federal court on Tuesday in a case that could decide the fate of an estimated $3 billion in interchange fees.

Since April, the state of California's monitor for the multi-state mortgage settlement has received more than 200 complaints about servicers moving homes toward foreclosure while the homeowner pursues a loan modification, according to a new report.

Angst over the scope enforcement was palpable at an Ellie Mae conference as mortgage lenders try to avoid the types of hefty fines the agency has already levied on credit card companies.

An alternative capital requirement that allowed Lehman and Bear Stearns to build up huge subprime portfolios and incur excessive leverage remains in effect for six large broker-dealers and investment banks.

A federal court judge on Tuesday posed several tough questions to parties involved in retailers' lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Board's implementation of a law setting a cap on debit interchange fees.

In a court hearing retailers will argue that the Federal Reserve Board got the implementation of the Durbin amendment wrong with the 21 cent limit. They argue the Fed's early proposed 12 cent limit was the more accurate interpretation of that part of Dodd-Frank.

The FDIC's board of directors will meet Oct. 9 to discuss stress-testing requirements mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as some tweaks to how the agency charges large-bank premiums.

D.C. District Court Judge Richard Leon pressed retailers and the Fed on the design and effect of the agency's rule capping interchange fees during oral arguments on Tuesday, but gave little indication of how he would decide the case.

Banks with less than $10 billion in assets are exempt from clearing and exchange trading requirements, but as derivative users they will have to post margin, keep records and amend documents.

Tuesday was the deadline for the nation's five largest mortgage servicers to implement 304 agreed-upon standards. Consumer advocates expressed skepticism that the companies have reached that goal.

Nationstar Mortgage went from private equity flop to a top servicer of troubled loans, thanks to deft management and a Fannie Mae partnership once hidden even from parts of the government.

After the filing of a civil complaint alleging fraud in Bear Stearns' mortgage-backed securities operation, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says he expects more cases to come.

Consumer litigation against collection agencies and creditors fell across the board in the Sept. 1-15 period compared to the previous half month, according to data pulled from U.S. district courts.

Intended to bring together the entire universe of U.S. financial regulators in the hope that doing so would identify and forestall new risks to the financial system, the FSOC, two years in, has not identified much and can therefore be credited with little forestalling, writes the ABA's Wayne Abernathy

Banks with at least $10 billion of assets saw their share of deposits increase to 74.4% at midyear from 72.4% a year earlier, the FDIC said Tuesday in its annual Summary of Deposits. Also, the number of U.S. branches and thrifts shrunk.