Law and regulation

The quality of large loans in the U.S. banking system improved for the third year in 2012, with problem credits falling 8.1% to $295 billion, according to the Federal Reserve.

Community banks should exploit their advantages based on convenience, personal service, local decision making and a relationship model reliant on deep customer knowledge.

Regulators, politicians, bankers, and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker himself are all searching for a simple, easy to understand, yet effective way to implement the Volcker Rule that is consistent with a safe and sound banking system. We agree and believe we have a solution that should be of interest to all concerned.

Small business owners in Europe certainly won't have a shortage of mobile payment options to choose from, as more companies enter the market locally and from the U.S.

Just as the plastic card liberated many consumers from a reliance on cash and coin, alternative payment sources are gaining enough adoption to steal transactions from plastic — with a little help from the very companies these digital currencies threaten.

The selloff in Treasuries that extended through much of this month underscores the dangers of adding exposure to long-dated bonds, but both large and small banks have been doing just that in recent quarters. Use this interactive graphic to examine the maturity profiles holding companies with at least $1 billion in assets.

Following the unprecedented industry shifts over the past four years, financial institutions and industry lobbyists are looking to keep a low profile at gatherings in Tampa and Charlotte.

Payments-industry rivals sometimes put their differences aside to achieve a common goal.

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp (KFFB) is seeking to waive its right to receive a dividend despite lingering uncertainty as to whether regulators will allow mutual holding companies to make that move.

About 6,000 U.S. banks, including those as small as $500 million in assets, are required to implement the "standardized" approach in Basel III. Ernst & Young's Peter Davis discusses the extent of the changes they face.

Big banks have been working to implement Basel II for a decade and still are not live under the rules. So how difficult will it be for them to comply with the more stringent requirements coming in Basel III? Very, says Ernst & Young's Peter Davis.

Ernst & Young's Peter Davis highlights key differences between the U.S. and international standards under Basel III and discusses whether the U.S. rules are tougher.

A controversial proposal to seize underwater mortgages through eminent domain faces significant legal challenges in California because the three municipalities do not have statutory authority to convey loans to a private company.

The Treasury Department recouped $62.4 million in its latest auction of the securities it owns from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but it was unable to find a buyer for shares Guaranty Federal Bancshares in Springfield, Mo.

Politicians, regulators and lenders still have much to learn from a period dominated by the "affordable housing" ideology.

Federal agencies intervened in the private student-loan market during the financial crisis and could play a future role, said Rohit Chopra, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's student-loan ombudsman.

The FDIC is appealing a ruling that barred it from pursuing simple negligence claims against officers and directors of a failed bank. If the agency loses, it could have a difficult time replenishing the Deposit Insurance Fund.

The Federal Reserve has given the green light to a revised capital plan submitted by Citigroup in June.

The Regulation Room, run by Cornell University, allows the public another opportunity to weigh in about Consumer Financial Protection Bureau policies.

A federal grand jury in California on Thursday charged an individual with 21 counts of wire fraud and mail fraud for an illegal debt collection scheme.