Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sharply criticized President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Thursday, saying he has reneged on his promises to "drain the swamp" and instead has put "swamp monsters" in charge.

Banks are butting heads with consumer groups and fintech firms over the need for new regulations governing the use of financial data.

Banks already have a difficult time collecting data on mortgage lending to minorities. New data requirements scheduled to take effect in early 2018 could lead to even more mistakes — and financial penalties — not to mention higher compliance costs and longer delays in closing loans.

Carter Bank in Virginia had been enjoying record profit until it was ordered to beef up Bank Secrecy Act compliance. The institution is the latest community bank to take a hit from enhanced oversight.

WASHINGTON – Progressive Democrats sent a letter to congressional leadership on Thursday urging them not to pass a budget bill that would reform the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other components of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has promised to serve out her term heading the central bank until it expires in 2018, ending speculation that she could resign earlier and give President-elect Donald Trump another important appointment to make when he assumes office in January.

Two consumer advocacy groups in California have accused CIT Group's OneWest Bank of failing to provide mortgages and other financial services in minority neighborhoods.

The complexity for large banks trying to improve culture is they are made up of different entities with competing missions and therefore competing cultures.

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay about $264 million to settle U.S. allegations that it hired children of Chinese decision makers to win business in violation of anti-bribery laws.

A long-awaited report by the Federal Reserve’s Office of Inspector General found “significant variability” between regional banks’ willingness to consider dissenting supervisory views, and said the challenges facing the New York Fed are especially daunting.

The Home Equity Mortgage Conversion program experienced a huge swing in its net worth during the fiscal 2016 year, plummeting from a value of $6.8 billion in fiscal 2015 to negative $7.7 billion.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposal Thursday that asks the public to weigh in on consumer access to financial information, part of a fight between banks and fintech companies about the sharing and control of consumer records.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren said this week that Republicans would be making a grave mistake if they try to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, saying that the agency embodies the same populist wave that helped elect Donald Trump.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling recited a litany of priorities for his panel next year, touching on everything from the very broad, like housing finance reform, to the specific, including targeting a proposal to rein in payday lending.

As the Justice Department winds down its Mortgage Fraud Task Force and a new administration prepares to enter the White House, the number of False Claims Act cases brought against Federal Housing Administration lenders is expected to dwindle.

While President-elect Trump’s influence on the financial industry may ultimately be substantial, any change is going to be slow to develop — sometimes agonizingly so.

The president-elect should consider establishing an executive-level office to inform his administration on ushering in a new era of financial regulation — one that is much savvier about new technology and big data.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari has sketched out what he calls a streamlined, simplified post-crisis regulatory structure that can end "too big to fail" and prevent financial crises – but it comes at the expense of economic growth.

The surprising outcome of last week's presidential election is already causing some banks to adjust interest rates on loans and rethink their technology spending.

Following the regulatory orders against Wells Fargo and the resignation of its CEO, stockholders are likely to ask whether the board has responsibility and even liability for the bank's compliance failures.