Law and regulation

Despite all of the new powers at their disposal, regulators continue to emphasize simplified and standardized disclosure as a critical tool to ensure consumers get a fair deal.

Mackinac Financial (MFNC) in Manistique, Mich., will raise up to $18 million through a common stock rights offering and a securities purchase agreement with an investor.

Federal regulators ought to start over on the Volcker Rule. Policymakers could meet the July 21 effective date if they stripped the plan down to its essence.

A decline in the foreclosure inventory and fewer new foreclosures initiated signal that servicers may be scaling back dual tracking processes, the OCC's lead mortgage expert said Wednesday.

Why does Harp 2.0 continue the incrementalism that marred the first incarnation of the refi program and many of the housing policies the president has put forth?

The bank's plan to convert troubled loans to rentals will benefit all concerned. A special unit for servicing toxic assets can help, if run wisely. Principal reductions could seriously backfire.

WASHINGTON — A House panel on Tuesday approved a bipartisan bill aimed at shoring up the finances of the Federal Housing Administration.

The House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that will allow some small banks to raise additional capital without registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Consumers will be able to discharge student loans in bankruptcy if Sen. Richard Durbin gets his way. Banks are vehemently opposing the move.

In his third lecture, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Bernanke said regulators cannot tolerate continuance of "too big to fail" institutions and government bailouts when firms take excessive risks.

A clubby corner of the mortgage market has sprung back to life thanks to the historic settlement between banks and governments over foreclosure practices.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has named longtime staffer E. Ann Worthy as its new head of banking supervision.

Deputy CFPB Director Raj Date told an industry group Tuesday that the bureau was carefully weighing the effect that a new ability-to-repay standard will have on the mortgage market.

The Federal Reserve Board has terminated a written agreement with the former Cadence Financial about a year after the Starkville, Miss., company was acquired.

It's time for our nation's leaders to get serious about job creation. Our economy is beginning to inch its way forward toward recovery, but the only way forward to real prosperity for all is through small businesses.

Fed officials argued Tuesday that their swap lines are easing pressures on European banks, and that's good for U.S. banks and consumers. But House Republicans raised concerns.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday that certain borrowers who did not receive required mortgage disclosures should have a right to cancel their loans, as long as they notify their lender within three years.

If TAG is allowed to expire at yearend, it could spur community banks looking for extra liquidity to turn back to FHLB advances, which are at their lowest point in a decade.

The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association has raised the possibility of creating a hybrid reverse mortgage loan with members of the White House staff, Peter Bell, its president and CEO told attendees at the group's eastern regional meeting in New York.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has ordered AmericaHomeKey, Inc., to immediately stop making FHA-insured mortgages and fined the Dallas-based lender $268,000.