Law and regulation

The presidential election is beginning to overshadow most issues. Want proof? Three of the top five stories from last week were directly related to the campaign, including the banking SuperPAC's move to target races and a preview of the political conventions.

The banking industry earned $34.5 billion in the second quarter as continued declines in loan loss expenses outpaced a reduction in net interest margins, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

As the Republican convention kicks into high gear this week, don't expect the headliners to spend much time discussing the Dodd-Frank Act, much less its specific parts.

Thrift holding companies, industrial loan companies and other limited-charter financial institutions will be subject to a rule, mandated by Dodd-Frank, that will require parent companies to act as a "source of strength."

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued an enforcement order against Citizens First National Bank that requires the Princeton, Ill., bank to become adequately capitalized or sell itself.

Most of the program's participants are increasing business loans, though some are having to reduce lending rates to book the best loans.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro may have lost the first round in her push to reform the $2.6 trillion money market mutual fund industry, but the fight has only just begun.

The Dodd-Frank Act gives the Securities Investor Protection Corp. a new role in unwinding failed financial companies.

With credit quality still improving in corporate loans shared by multiple banks, the financial industry produced the first increase in shared credits in three years. Yet deterioration is still higher than norms.

The regulatory risk from Basel III, Dodd-Frank and other pressures will keep banks from growing, and the economy can't grow, if banks don't.

The Federal Reserve Board said Monday it is considering offering certain smaller-sized financial institutions more time before they have to undergo an annual stress test.

Prospects for the Visa/MasterCard antitrust settlement received another jolt last week when the Retail Industry Leaders Association weighed in against the terms, joining other influential opponents of the landmark deal.

The consumer agency announced a series of changes in the wake of a key defection.

Tight budgets and industry upheaval have bankers and their lobbyists planning to keep low profiles in Tampa and Charlotte.

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit said regulators shouldn't dictate what banks can sell to clients because such controls risk undermining financial stability and have no clear economic benefit.

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.