Law and regulation

AB editors discuss everything from eminent domain mortgage seizures and the CFPB's first year to earnings and the risk that banks are stretching for earnings.

U.S. officials were told in April 2008 that banks were possibly underreporting their London interbank offered rate submissions, according to documents released on Friday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Merscorp Holdings will provide the state of Delaware's Department of Justice Consumer Protection Unit a semi-annual report detailing results of its internal audits.

On eve of law's second anniversary, regulators face heavy scrutiny over how they will implement remaining Dodd-Frank rules. Many key regulations have yet to be seen.

Due to ever-increasing compliance requirements, consumers have already lost free checking. Now, the Bureau's sights are set on general purpose reloadable prepaid cards.

The guest list to Rep. Barney Frank's July 7 wedding included several Democratic Party honchos.

The pop-culture catchphrase of the summer — "That's a clown question, bro" — made an unexpected appearance Tuesday at a financial regulatory meeting.

"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has already proved to be one of the busiest regulators in Washington," writes American Banker's Rob Blackwell about the agency’s first year in operation.

The Federal Reserve Board has lifted a written agreement with Tower Financial that required the Fort Wayne, Ind., company to improve its lending and credit administration.

WASHINGTON — Twelve Democratic senators have called for a U.S. investigation into any role banks and regulators may have played in the scandal over the London Interbank Offered Rate.

If the CFTC and self-regulatory organizations couldn't protect MF Global and Peregrine customers' money, how will they fare policing the $300 trillion swaps market?

Four out of five banks that closed important deals last week did so in four months or less. First PacTrust, which is new to getting M&A approval from regulators, needed 10 months to close one deal and has another pending after more than a year.

"The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 included a provision protecting whistleblowers at publicly traded companies from retaliation. Dodd-Frank spelled out that the provision also protects employees of wholly owned subsidiaries of public companies. The question remained, however, whether that protection applies retroactively,” writes law.com.

Settlement with San Francisco bank is second-largest fair-lending case following Justice Department's deal with Countrywide last year.

The only beneficiary of this well-intended but misguided regulation appears to be a small group of lawyers bringing costly lawsuits.

When smaller financial institutions, such as credit unions, are inundated with regulations from multiple agencies simultaneously, their ability to meet the needs of members is hampered and services are curtailed.

Banks are allowed to pass on costs related to FDIC premiums, but the agency is warning the industry that expressly designating an 'FDIC fee' has consequences.

How ironic to see banks complain about being victimized by nuisance lawsuits filed by consumers over missing warning notices at ATMs – notices that were required to stop banks from victimizing consumers with nuisance charges at ATMs.

San Bernardino County is weighing a controversial plan to use eminent domain to modify underwater mortgages, even as the county’s largest city seeks bankruptcy.

A fraud case that contributed to the recent failure of Montgomery Bank in Georgia could lead to more regulatory scrutiny when community banks look for outside investors.