Law and regulation

The announcement by Bank of America (BAC) of their plan to offer up to 200,000 struggling homeowners a new lease on life for their underwater mortgage through principal reduction at first glance seems like a major step forward in addressing a nearly 5-year old problem.

The more obscure a credit card issuer's pricing and the more aggressive its marketing, the more its losses jumped during the recession, according to a new study from the Center for Responsible Lending.

As Democrats mounted a push to pass refinancing legislation Tuesday, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee warned against the consequences of leaving them out of the process.

Louisiana has filed a RICO complaint against MERS and a host of megabanks, Bank of America included. Down the line, consumer advocates hope hard-nosed prosecutors can provide what Occupy may not be able to: justice for homeowners.

Frustrated with record-high unemployment levels, some lawmakers are looking to overhaul the central bank's mandate.

The renewed focus on fair lending and UDAP issues, especially with the advent of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is becoming a bigger factor in CRA ratings.

The banking industry suffered credit crises in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. An unavoidable conclusion is that its loan loss reserves were in all cases too small.

Bankers received an earful about pay from the public this year. But among the audience that matters most—their own shareholders—the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

A coalition of activist groups is planning a massive demonstration of as many as 1,000 participants at Bank of America's annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday.

"We've been pretty aggressive" marketing the revamped refi program to customers, says a Fifth Third mortgage executive. Lenders are making so much money on secondary market sales they're practically "stealing it."

Industry stakeholders argue the central bank's massive proposal to implement a series of new rules, including new capital and liquidity standards, would curb credit availability and create a one-size-fits-all regulatory model.

Paul Nash, a former lobbyist, will advise the new comptroller after heading FDIC's legislative operations during run-up to Dodd-Frank.

Over and over we heard at the Milken Institute Global Conference that there's a "clog in the transmission mechanism" of the economy.

In the aftermath of the crisis, Congress keeps piling on rules to enforce, without proportionately increasing the number or competence of examiners. Is it any wonder overstretched supervisors never asked, "What if home prices stop going up?"

Gov. Daniel Tarullo met in private with big bank CEOs and talked in public about the progress of regulatory reform last week. American Banker’s editors discuss the takeaways.

At a congressional hearing Monday, an FHFA official sought to manage expectations regarding a program that many see as a key step in clearing the nation's inventory of foreclosed homes.

A coalition of consumer and community groups is urging regulators to crack down on a Florida bank that is issuing prepaid cards for payday lender CheckSmart.

Americans are mostly powerless to correct harmful errors on their credit reports thanks to loopholes and obstacles in the federal law governing credit-reporting agencies, according to a report Sunday in an Ohio newspaper that was widely picked up by national media outlets.

Megabank CEOs want the Fed to disclose more about its stress test models. They can show good faith by supporting the international effort to make global counterparty risk transparent.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed Security Bank in North Lauderdale, Fla., on Friday, bringing the total number of failures so far in 2012 to 23.