Law and regulation

An estimated 641 collection agencies and creditors were sued in the first half of August as the pace for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act cases picks up, according to U.S. district courts.

Should San Bernardino's plan to seize underwater mortgages through eminent domain move forward, its home values would likely plummet and local credit would dry up.

Mitt Romney is not against banking regulation per se, he explained to Time magazine last week.

In two lengthy interviews, John Walsh, the acting head of the OCC for nearly two years, offers his candid views on a range of subjects, including the FSOC's effectiveness and the reform idea he believes is "something worth dying for."

Few banks with trust-preferred debt would fall below the Basel III capital minimum without the securities. Many are using the phase-out as an opportunity to retire the high-cost funding.

The real-estate industry is using this week's Republican convention to flex its political muscles, defending the tax deduction for mortgage interest and calling for changes to the qualified residential mortgage exception.

The central bank's most recent Beige Book finds disparities both between and within regional districts about the appetite for new loans.

The Treasury Department has released an infographic outlining how the financial reform legislation helps to strengthen Main Street banks. Do you agree Dodd-Frank creates a level playing field for financial institutions?

Citigroup agreed Wednesday to pay $590 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit over its disclosures about subprime mortgage exposure. The sum is large but in keeping with what some banks have paid to put the crisis years behind them.

A preliminary report from the independent monitor shows that the five servicers in the $25 billion mortgage-settlement pact are so far focusing more on short sales than on loan mods or refis.

The Volcker rule's liquidity account exemption is stirring debate. Some say it would allow for trades like JPMorgan's infamous "London Whale." Others argue it needs to be expanded in order to be effective in letting banks manage liquidity risk.

Calls from various constituencies in the business to establish a single mortgage-backed security are sensible. But why stop there?

In a series of letters, the agency asked Assurant to break out revenues in states investigating the industry and assess the effect such probes would have on its bottom line.

The five largest U.S. mortgage servicers say they have provided about $10.6 billion in relief to troubled borrowers under the terms of a $25 billion legal settlement over abusive foreclosure practices.

Eastern Federal Bank of Norwich, Conn., has applied to the Connecticut Department of Banking to switch from a federal charter to a state charter.

The political game in Washington might not be one former SIGTARP Neil Barofsky was willing to play, but it suits Wall Street lobbyists perfectly. What are we, citizens and taxpayers, supposed to do now?

OK, here at DFRW we may get wonkish about the nuts and bolts of the Dodd-Frank Act, but let’s face it, the topic unlikely to fire up passion in the average Joe. It’s unlikely we'll hear much about the legislation at the Republican convention in Tampa this week. "Instead, count on hearing in more general terms about overregulation and the burden it imposes on small business," writes American Banker’s Kevin Wack.

GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wants to repeal Dodd-Frank and replace it with… Dodd-Frank. Confused? You are not alone.

Assurant, facing reviews into whether it overcharges for insurance that some homeowners are compelled to buy, expanded disclosure about its profits after an inquiry from the SEC.

FDIC's Quarterly Banking Profile shows broad improvements in the number of institutions making more loans. But with rock-bottom interest rates squeezing margins, banks yet again looked toward reduced loss provisions to drive earnings.