Law and regulation

The distance between the U.S. — at the head of the pack — and the rest of the world in crafting financial reforms is becoming a major hurdle for implementing the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Treasury Department has hired Melissa Koide, vice president of policy for the non-profit Center for Financial Services Innovation, which focuses on providing expanding the availability of financial services.

The Senate by a clear margin passed legislation Thursday making it easier for small banks to attract investors without having to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Thursday unveiled an interactive database with answers to consumers' frequently asked questions about financial products.

Unsuccessful in its bid to raise capital and recently ordered by regulators to bolster its loan-loss allowance, Fidelity Bank in Dearborn, Mich., is now critically undercapitalized and has told investors that is in danger of failing.

The $25 billion mortgage settlement and other government aid programs for troubled homeowners, including Harp 2.0, are forcing cost-cutting banks into a tricky balancing act.

FHFA's watchdog said during housing bubble Fannie Mae frequently made "variances" to its own lending standards, which hurt the quality of its portfolio.

WASHINGTON–Both Democrats and Republicans who opposed the Federal Reserve Board’s cap on debit card interchange fees pledged March 21 to stand with community banks and credit unions that are trying to avoid the price limits.

Despite Republican criticism over the recess appointment of Richard Cordray to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a key GOP senator this week said the controversial hiring has not affected his position on other regulatory nominees.

CFPB chief says while agency was charged with writing regulations for everyone, situations exist when an institution's size should be taken into account.

In the depths of the financial crisis, the FDIC under Chairman Sheila Bair extended 100% insurance coverage to non-deposit transactions balances of all banks. Known as the Transaction Account Guarantee program, this extraordinary extension of FDIC insurance coverage to all transaction balances was a good idea at the time, but should be allowed to expire at the end of the year.

The Obama administration wants the agency to give more consideration of tool meant to help troubled borrowers keep their homes.

The state of Hawaii is considering using federal stimulus money to create a "clean economy bank" that would make low-interest rate loans to clean energy companies.

The impact of the so-called Durbin Amendment on small financial institutions was a hot topic Wednesday at a credit-union conference in Washington.

John Walsh, the acting Comptroller of the Currency, used an appearance at the American Bankers Association's governmental summit to state the case against creating an alternative appeals process.

The testing process penalizes banks if their capital estimates veer from the Federal Reserve's, but the central bank has failed to show that its estimates are any better.

The Federal Trade Commission this week summarized its recent work on debt collection issues in a letter.

The American Bankers Association told attendees at its Government Relations Summit that now is not the time to “play footsie” with lawmakers and regulators.

Stung by the recent skimming scandals that rocked banks in Singapore, the country’s apex monetary authority says it is working with the financial institutions to safeguard their systems and operating capability.

In a time of crisis, banks are challenged to communicate to irate and frustrated customers over Twitter, Facebook and blogs. And in most cases, the banks don't win.