Law and regulation

Following the regulator's designation of larger consumer reporting companies for supervision, the CFPB said examiners will assess the accuracy of credit reports and how companies disclose information to consumers about credit scores.

Designating certain companies as systemically important accomplishes nothing more than putting them into a closer relationship with the government, making the designation itself a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If Congress fails to extend this 2007 law, millions of already-struggling families would face a substantial tax bill shortly after working out a deal with their mortgage lender – undermining short sales and other foreclosure prevention efforts.

The all-inclusive APR that figures into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's prosed mortgage disclosure forms has elicited a mixed reaction.

The Democratic Party and some of the nation's largest banks greeted each other uneasily Tuesday at the start of a week of partisan festivities here in Charlotte.

Bank of Commerce of Redding, Calif., is selling its majority stake in a mortgage lending company, a move some industry observers say makes sense given a challenging regulatory environment.

Among those calling for tighter money market fund regulations, one analyst says the Financial Stability Oversight Council's action (or lack thereof) on the matter will be a test of Dodd-Frank's effectiveness.

As banks have added checking-account fees to counter reductions in debit card revenue, consumers have responded, too, by streamlining their wallets and closing dormant or less-used accounts, new research shows.

No one should be surprised that banks would suppress their posted rates in a funding crisis or that they might manipulate the BBA survey for gain. It was easy to see this coming.

Vodafone, Telefonica's O2 unit and Everything Everywhere are set to win unconditional European Union approval for a joint venture to create a U.K. mobile-phone payment platform, according to two people familiar with the decision.

John Walsh, the former acting Comptroller of the Currency, has doubts about the Financial Stability Oversight Council, wishes Dodd-Frank mandated a single federal regulator for banking, but also says regulators need to be efficient in implementing rules required by the legislation.

Shareholders of Wall Street banks who agree with former Citigroup CEO Sanford "Sandy" Weill that the companies should be broken up face an obstacle: bondholders.

Risk management still has its weak spots, despite the valuable lessons banks learned from the financial crisis. Practitioners wonder if stopping the next blow-up is even a reasonable goal for the profession.

Bankers can declare an end to their summer of scandal now that Labor Day is done — but it remains to be seen whether the next few months will be any better.

Lenders embrace the concept of simpler mortgage disclosures but want the bureau to fix shortcomings of the APR before making it the focal point of rule changes.

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.