Law and regulation

Gift card marketers are joining forces to oppose a New Jersey law that would cause headaches for retailers.

Students will now be able to compare individual financial aid offers from different colleges using an interactive, online worksheet developed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Banks and credit unions are engaged in a fierce lobbying battle over legislation that would allow credit unions to expand their commercial lending.

The agencies can use their discretion to act without discretion: treat all banks alike, big or small, and declare that no nonbanks are "systemically important," i.e. too big to fail.

William S. Ferguson II, the former owner of a now-closed collection agency in Baton Rouge, La., was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to three counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

One key to the well being of the banking industry is of course the economy. Even the best management and board cannot immunize a banking company from the effects of local and national economic malaise.

Sometime in June, the long-awaited final qualified mortgage rule will be released. Considerable speculation and debate over variations of the rule have taken place since it appeared in the Dodd-Frank Act. Its ultimate form has implications for access to mortgage credit, its cost, and contingent legal liability, among others.

The mortgage insurance industry has paid about $30 billion in claims, mostly to Fannie and Freddie, through the current cycle. That $30 billion is money that didn't have to come from the taxpayer.

The National Fair Housing Alliance's past discrimination initiatives against the property insurance industry and others suggest that servicers should expect a series of press releases and HUD complaints followed by federal court actions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlined a slew of new rules it plans to propose this summer that the industry said could require expensive systems upgrades for servicers.

Albert Forkner, who had been Wyoming's acting banking commissioner since January, was appointed to the position permanently in late March.

A top Federal Reserve official on Tuesday sought to respond to concerns by the biggest banks over its recent stress test exercise, saying it is willing to make improvements to the process.

Bankers have lost the credibility needed to influence the public and policymakers, M&T Bank CEO Robert Wilmers says.

The Federal Reserve ordered Louis A. DeNaples to step down from the board of First National Community Bancorp (FNCB) of Dunmore, Pa., and submit a plan for selling his controlling stakes in First National and another bank.

A federal judge is siding with the bankruptcy trustee of the failed IndyMac Bancorp Inc. in his dispute with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. over the rights to $55 million in disputed tax refunds.

Ed DeMarco, the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac signaled Tuesday that the Federal Housing Finance Agency is unlikely to pursue a broad principal forgiveness program.

Joseph Smith said in an interview Monday that he wants to avoid surprising the banks as he oversees their compliance with the $25 billion mortgage servicing settlement.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau detailed a slew of new mortgage servicing rules late Monday that it plans to propose this summer, including a call for expanded disclosures for payments and fees and new policies in how banks must handle customer accounts.

A Texas woman who posed as an employee for a debt settlement company has pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud for allegedly swindling $13,000 from a Mississippi couple.

Joseph Smith, who is responsible for monitoring compliance with the $25 billion multi-state mortgage settlement talks potential fines, consumer complaints about servicers and how he plans to move forward on hiring help for the massive undertaking.