Law and regulation

Citigroup vice chairman Michael Helfer on Thursday called efforts by regulators to require plans by financial institutions on how they would be unwound as "valuable," despite complaints that have been lodged against the effort.

Phil Gramm, the former U.S. senator who helped write the 1999 law that enabled the creation of financial giants such as Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., said his legislation didn't make the system any riskier.

For many, it is more beneficial to take advantage of mechanisms that are integral to the fabric of the company and of the financial ecosystem, as a way to achieve compliance and maximize investments in current foundations.

The National Credit Union Administration announced Thursday it is creating an office to examine the nation's largest credit unions — the four with assets of over $10 billion, as well as the corporate credit unions — as part of a reorganization of its examinations process.

BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and Vanguard, firms that collectively manage more than $7 trillion, are gauging how their clients have been hurt by Libor manipulation and whether to take legal action as at least a dozen banks are being investigated for rate-rigging.

Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB, faced Republicans in Congress on Tuesday night as part of a House subcommittee on financial services oversight hearing.

The Federal Reserve Board entered into a written agreement with Macon Bancorp that requires the Franklin, N.C., company to serve as a source of strength to its bank.

In a speech Wednesday, Sen. Richard Shelby said that if Republicans win control of the Senate, he will work to rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other financial regulators.

Visa swung to a loss of $1.8 billion in the third quarter, as it paid its portion of a $6 billion settlement agreement with retailers that was announced earlier this month.

Visa posted a fiscal third-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates as credit and debit card spending rose.

Comments by former Citigroup chief executive Sandy Weill reignited the debate over whether to separate commercial banking from investment banking.

"If I could push a button and eliminate Dodd-Frank would I do it? No, I would not," says Goldman Sach’s Lloyd Blankfein.

Sandy Weill's call to break up big banks invoked the Main Street bankers who have blasted Wall Street fat cats like him for years. What next for him — a director post at a small bank in Peoria?

The House of Representatives easily approved Republican Rep. Ron Paul's bill authorizing a broad audit of the Federal Reserve Board. The bill is not expected to pass the Senate.

Banks and institutional investors in loans caught a break when the SEC and CFTC decided not to define loan participation agreements as swaps under Dodd-Frank. A decision otherwise would have ended business as usual.

JPMorgan Chase's Disney debit rewards card was one of many that banks eliminated after regulation led to a slash in debit interchange revenue. Now the card is making a comeback — with a few changes.

Distressed homeowners have received only 10 percent of nearly $46 billion in federal aid since the money was allocated in 2009 under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a U.S. auditor's report said today.

Global regulators took a further step in refining a capital framework by specifying the amount of capital banks should keep to cover their exposure to central counterparties.

The CEOs who lead our largest banks ought to be spending their time trying to get ahead of the next problem and righting their corporate cultures. If they don't, it may be only a matter of time before Congress breaks them up, argues Editor-at-Large Barbara A. Rehm

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's boss appeared before a House oversight subcommittee known for its hostility and got off surprisingly easy.