Law and regulation

While criticizing big bank bailouts, the former FDIC chairman highlights instances where small firms — including United Commercial Bank and ShoreBank — were closed even with alternatives available.

Two of the state attorneys general in the suit against Dodd-Frank are looking out for investor and creditor rights. The law's orderly liquidation authority "violates the Constitution's separation of powers, the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process, and the guarantee of 'uniform' bankruptcy laws," they write.

Interchange has become an ever-more important foundation for credit card lenders as loan portfolios tread water. This interactive graphic shows revenue yields and transaction volume data for large issuers.

WASHINGTON — Zions Bancorp., the largest bank remaining in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, repaid the last of its government funds to exit the program Wednesday, the Treasury Department announced.

Joe Smith, the monitor of the $25 billion mortgage settlement, talks about whether the five largest servicers will be ready when they report on their progress next week.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Wednesday named agency veteran John Vogel as the regional director in its New York office.

California Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed three new laws that are part of the Homeowner Bill of Rights aimed at increasing prosecutions for mortgage-related crimes.

An increase in capital requirements may reduce earnings, minimize returns and contribute to a stagnant environment where loan production is at a minimum and bank acquisitions are very few.

The Federal Reserve's latest mortgage bond purchases so far are helping profit margins at lenders, including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, more than homebuyers and property owners looking to refinance.

"The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure," delivers on expectations that former BB&T chief John Allison would continue to put heavy blame on politicians for the panic of 2008 and the lingering economic malaise.

Metro Bank in Harrisburg, Pa., will pay $1.5 million to settle claims that it violated the Bank Secrecy Act.

Sen. Dick Durbin, who led the effort to cap debit interchange fees last year, responded to the banking and credit union lobbies’ letters to Congress last week, saying the cap has resulted in a victory for consumers.

Market participants will quickly fill the home finance gap. Financing homes is an excellent business. The S&Ls were successful in this market for 50 years before they were destroyed by government policy.

The decision by three state attorneys generals to join a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Dodd-Frank Act gives the suit a significant boost, improving its chances and broadening its scope.

The operators of a Philadelphia-based telemarketing scheme will pay more than $7.5 million to settle FTC charges that they peddled bogus credit cards and illegally debited consumers’ bank accounts.

The SEC has charged three former executives of TierOne, a failed bank in Nebraska, with misleading investors about the extent of the bank's losses during the financial crisis.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced a new system Tuesday for classifying violations of consumer-protection rules that the agency spots during exams.

Sheila Bair, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., nearly succeeded in forcing the largest banks to hold at least 10% common equity capital as part of Basel III rules, but was stymied by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

The National Credit Union Administration filed a lawsuit against Barclays, alleging the bank's sale of faulty mortgage-backed securities to two corporate credit unions — U.S. Central and WesCorp — contributed to their 2009 collapse.

The National Fair Housing Alliance says Bank of America has failed to maintain foreclosed properties in minority neighborhoods. It lodged similar complaints against Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp earlier this year.