Law and regulation

A consumer group questions why the top five mortgage servicers are getting credit under the $25 billion national mortgage settlement for forgiving principal in short sales when the goal of the program is to keep borrowers in their homes.

The Treasury Department has investigated nine community banks that failed since 2007 for possible criminal conduct that led to their failures. The cases have since been closed, and the agency has elected against filing lawsuits in every case.

Mitt Romney has stated he wants to repeal Dodd-Frank, but GOP members of Congress at the convention in Tampa indicated they're more likely to target the legislation in pieces.

Couple says President Obama, not the banks, is to blame for refinancing difficulty.

Texas congressman, a possible successor to Spencer Bachus as chairman of the Financial Services Committee, say for now he is focused on presidential race between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Friday that it has instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise the fees they charge lenders on loan guarantees in hopes of creating more private-sector competition in the secondary loan market.

The so-called bad bank Spain's government will set up to take soured real estate from the lenders it has bailed out will seek private investors and try to sell the assets over 10 to 15 years.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) was accused in a lawsuit of manipulating clients' foreign-exchange transactions for its own benefit.

Programs to strengthen bank liquidity, facilitate credit and buy mortgages were good moves, though it is hard to say how much worse things would have been in their absence, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said at the Jackson Hole summit.

A small number of alternative financial services providers would be permitted to operate nationwide and on the Internet without adequate policing of their products for underserved consumers.

An excessively-leveraged banking system increases the risk that a crisis in one country will spread to another, according to a paper presented at a Federal Reserve conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Banks and the GOP, mortgage relief and more.

Dodd-Frank, aimed at restoring confidence in the so-called Wall Street banks, had a devastating effect on Main Street banks, and is now threatening their long-established role as the backbone of the American Dream.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau appointed Kelly Thompson Cochran as acting assistant director for regulations. She’ll be filling the shoes of Leonard Chanin, who is returning to Morrison & Foerster.

In interviews at their convention in Tampa, Republican lawmakers downplayed the chances of a full repeal of Dodd-Frank, but instead said that reining in the new consumer agency and paring back derivatives rules would be goals in 2013.

Credit unions are giddy about a new NCUA rule that says advanced video terminals can be counted as full-fledged service facilities, providing a new way to compete with banks by attracting members in underserved areas.

A number of de novo banks, or those that are seven years old or younger, are facing long delays from regulators when it comes to amending their business plans to allow for bigger growth targets.

Despite warnings of the potential dire consequences, a steady stream of government policies enabled and encouraged banks to make mortgages to people who could not afford them.

Just in case you thought otherwise, the Treasury Department has released an infographic outlining how Wall Street reform helps to strengthen small banks.

The break up with JTH Tax comes months after Kentucky's Republic Bancorp agreed to end its refund-anticipation loan program as part of a settlement with the FDIC.