Law and regulation

In an attempt to compensate for higher foreclosure related losses, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is proposing that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge higher fees on new loans in five states.

Controlled by the government for the past four years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are already shadows of their former, formidable selves. But what the FHFA has planned will essentially make them mirror images of each other, separate companies on paper only.

In a race closely watched by the banking industry, multiple polls conducted since the Democratic National Convention now find Elizabeth Warren leading Sen. Scott Brown. "Warren is looking unbeatable," one analyst says.

A group of Republican state attorneys general has declined to sign cooperation agreements with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, part of an escalating Republican revolt against the agency that began in Congress.

A federal charter will allow lenders to provide more credit alternatives with lower costs as well as flexible payback periods and loan amounts to underbanked consumers.

The SEC has a lot of rules to implement for Dodd-Frank, and as we know, much of that has been slow-going. The agency had been posting a timetable for action on its website, but "this summer, the agency quietly removed timing estimates from its list of pending Dodd-Frank mandates, largely because the estimates were rarely accurate, officials said," reports a Wall Street Journal blog.

Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide Financial unit is asking a judge to throw out claims for "billions of dollars" in damages by the Federal Housing Finance Agency for mortgage-backed securities bought by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

A government program that lets small-business owners refinance commercial mortgages is set to expire next week, but supporters are hopeful that Congress will revisit it after the November elections.

John Ducrest, the commissioner of the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions, will serve a second term on the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

The theme of many Dodd-Frank two-year anniversary articles this summer was all about how many rules required by the legislation were still up in the air. That might be about to change.

FDIC board member Thomas Hoenig said bankers do not fully appreciate the public's rebuke of their industry or the market advantages big banks still enjoy over their competitors.

After lagging behind last year's record pace for the bulk of the year, FDCPA lawsuits have closed the gap.

A simpler calculation isn't necessarily the right one. If a capital ratio misrepresents a bank's risk or creates incentives to take on more of it, simple is scarcely an improvement.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said the central bank's new stimulus is vital for boosting "unacceptably slow" improvement in economic growth.

New HMDA data show FHA- and VA-supported loans holding a huge share of the market as overall home loans and refis are still on the decline.

Fannie Mae has named the former chief litigation counsel for Pfizer (PFE) as its general counsel and corporate secretary.

The Federal Reserve Board has lifted a written agreement with a Taiwanese company and its Los Angeles branch that stemmed from their Bank Secrecy Act compliance.

We can only speculate about the real purpose for the Volcker Rule.

The 59% increase in the government subsidy reflects an increase in loan defaults, not loan demand.

Patrick M. Parkinson, former head of supervision for the Federal Reserve Board, has joined Promontory Financial Group.