Law and regulation

Mutual thrifts looking to convert to publicly traded companies run the risk of increased pressure from activist investors. While the conversion process alone makes it easier for dissidents to accumulate shares, some observers say mutuals are also suffering from lax enforcement of rules designed to protect them.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed exempting trades between units of the same company from Dodd-Frank Act clearinghouse rules designed to limit risk in the $648 trillion swaps market.

If very different lines of business are walled off from one another, conflicts of interest and risk can be mitigated without losing any of the benefits of one-stop banking.

From Paul Ryan on Volcker to Julie Williams leaving the OCC, Washington managed to dominate banking news during a week when it's traditionally a ghost town.

The Treasury Department on Friday said it is restructuring the terms of its investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, four years after the government bailout of the beleaguered housing behemoths.

Eminent domain is a well-meaning bid to help individual homeowners, but it also would raise borrower credit costs and undermine efforts to inject private capital back into mortgage markets.

The Treasury Department today announced plans to accelerate the winddown of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed new requirements for mortgage servicers “to provide clear monthly statements, earlier disclosures for interest rate adjustments and options to help borrowers avoid foreclosures and costly force-placed insurance,” writes American Banker’s Kate Berry.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will sell a $1.7 billion portfolio of nonperforming Federal Housing Administration loans in September as part of a bulk sale program aimed at helping borrowers avoid foreclosure, the loan sale advisory firm DebtX said Thursday.

Over objections from residents and lenders, the county passed a resolution Thursday authorizing its staff to seek bids from private companies looking to buy up and restructure underwater mortgages.

Fannie and Freddie's earnings from guaranteeing mortgages were a footnote when they were racking up huge losses. Now that they've stabilized, what fees their conservator sets will determine whether they shrink or can again be profitable.

Ocwen Financial (OCN) in Atlanta has hired a mortgage industry veteran to fill a new position for government and community relations.

Romney wants to make it easier for Congress to veto the proposals from regulators, and he vows to put a cap on new regulations. Both plans could have a big impact on financial regulation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice filed a joint Supreme Court amicus brief related to consumers' FDCPA rights.

We don't need and shouldn't have one-size-fits-all regulatory policies. Community banks are different from their larger U.S. counterparts.

Ellie Mae's survey found that community banks still have some concerns about regulation and compliance costs. Still, they expect that a decline in competition could be good for overall business.

Banking policy wonks might want to disengage from their sober debate about vice presidential nominee's views on Dodd-Frank and GSEs and check out the social-media phenomenon that Ryan gags have become.

The Treasury Department will sell $381.5 million of preferred shares in M&T, paying the last of the Buffalo bank's Tarp tab.

As the banking industry and Wall Street gear up for the impending reforms under Dodd-Frank, it is wise to cast an eye toward the rules for trade reporting and clearing for over-the-counter derivatives, lest they catch you unaware.

Discover Financial Services is facing a new lawsuit over the marketing of its payment protection and other fee-based credit card products — this time from one of its own shareholders.