Law and regulation

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has terminated a consent order with Northwest Savings Bank that had required the Warren, Pa., bank to strengthen various parts of its consumer compliance management system.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received mostly positive reviews. But complaints of inexperienced examiners and confrontational exams stem from the fledgling agency's effort to set itself apart from traditional banking regulators.

Labeling a quarter of the U.S. population as un- or underbanked may be derisive, but naming rights still go to those who control the financial services market – banks.

Banks are worried that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is placing too much emphasis on the stressful years of the financial crisis in determining lenders' concentration of high-risk loans.

Authorities are searching for Aubrey Lee Price, a former director of Montgomery Bank & Trust, on charges that he bilked investors out of $40 million since 2008.

Unreasonably high taxes generate less, not more revenue for governments. Likewise, banks might make more money with lower fees, and become more compliant and less hated.

The FDIC is backing away from covering losses, Countrywide's VIP program benefits members of Congress, an 'abusive' practice is defined, nine of the largest banks detail how to take them apart if they fail, and the OCC releases a report detailing every risk facing banks. Here are the Top 5 Washington stories last week.

The House Oversight Committee last week released a 136-page report that seems likely to be the final word on the Countrywide VIP mortgage scandal. Here is a summary of what the report says about seven current and former members of Congress, along with their responses.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is scheduled Tuesday to consider whether banks with under $10 billion in assets will be exempt from Dodd-Frank requirements to conduct swap trades through clearinghouses.

The National Credit Union Administration announced Saturday morning the completion of its liquidation of WesCorp FCU, marking the end of the most costly failure in credit union history.

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed Montgomery Bank & Trust in Ailey on Friday. Ameris Bank in Moultrie, Ga., agreed to assume all of the bank's $164.4 million in deposits.

A new congressional report provides a comprehensive look into how Countrywide used its VIP program to win friends in Washington.

We know all about the "Friends of Angelo," those political insiders who got sweetheart mortgages from Countrywide. But what about the poor schlubs who aren't worth former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo's affection? Well, they finally have a leader.

The acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said it is "difficult at this time to anticipate the consequences" of the possible expiration of the Transaction Account Guarantee program at the end of the year because of the uncertain economic climate.

Georgia regulators have ordered an Atlanta-area business to stop calling itself a credit union.

Sen. Jon Tester, who led the charge on Capitol Hill to delay interchange fee reform, is receiving a reelection assist from Pearl Jam, the grunge band fronted by Eddie Vedder.

The House Financial Services Committee is holding two Dodd-Frank related hearings next week as part of Republican members’ agenda to eventually repeal the legislation, according to The Hill’s Floor Action Blog. Sounds kind of a like a not-so-happy birthday celebration for the act, which was passed in July 2010.

Consumers may not be pushing for stronger card security because they feel overly protected by the systems in use today. But they do face real costs for fraud.

PricewaterhouseCoopers failed to warn shareholders and the public about increased risk at Barclays. The auditor gave the British bank a clean report card on internal controls over financial reporting. We now know those controls were seriously deficient.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced three senior staff appointments this week, including a new examination chief and a top liaison to Congress.