Law and regulation

Perversely, the proposed compliance framework presumes that a banking entity has violated the Volcker Rule unless the entity can prove otherwise.

Large debt collection and credit reporting firms would face federal supervision for the first time under a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal issued Thursday.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and FDIC Chairman Marty Gruenberg said regulators are seeking to keep community banks vibrant.

Fannie Mae is considering Timothy Mayopoulos, the head of a banking industry trade group and its own general counsel, as possible replacements for departing Chief Executive Michael Williams, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A small restaurant in Park City, Utah, figures to play a big role in determining how card networks prove suspected card data security breaches and whether card processors rightfully can deduct funds from merchant accounts–without telling the merchants–to cover their own network fines for breaches allegedly stemming from a client failing to comply with Payment Card Industry data-security standards.

After a slow start to the year for consumer statute litigation - specifically the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act - all three categories jumped in the second half of January, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

The Center for Responsible Lending was one of 15 organizations on Thursday to receive a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

A two-year inquiry into tri-party repurchase agreements has not figured out how to fully eliminate systemic risk from this arcane market.

Congress has begun to consider ways to enhance the ombudsman programs at the federal financial regulatory agencies. These programs are an especially important part of the regulatory process, and are deserving of thoughtful ways to increase their efficacy.

An industry group's failure to expeditiously reform the workings of one of the repo market is forcing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to adopt a stronger monitoring role in the sector.

Of the 575 official complaints against Capital One's plan to buy ING Direct, only one stuck: The credit card lender has been a serial screw-up when it comes to getting delinquent borrowers to pay up, the Fed found.

Two leading scholars on executive compensation at banks argued to Congress that proposed new regulations don't go far enough to fix bad incentives.

Waccamaw Bankshares scored a minor victory tied to a 2010 capital infusion, though its president said the result only buys time to explore "strategic alternatives."

On what basis do the MMFs think that they are entitled to run a multi-trillion dollar business, in this day and age, without any capital to stand behind any mistakes they may make?

Citigroup Inc. agreed Wednesday to pay $158.3 million to settle claims that its mortgage unit improperly originated Federal Housing Administration loans, a swift reminder that the massive national mortgage deal does not insulate banks from other mortgage-related claims.

CitiMortgage has agreed to pay $158.3 million to resolve allegations by the U.S. related to the quality of loans it submitted to a government-backed mortgage insurance program.

Why community banking is crucial to the nation's long-term growth.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray told a House panel said the bureau intends to provide more information about its budget and expenditures going forward.

A judge has approved Bank of Hawaii's deal to pay $9 million to settle a class action involving overdraft fees.

With the recess appointment of the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency is becoming even more active and issues are coming into focus. Financial institutions subject to its jurisdiction should pay attention to its Supervision and Examination Manual published in late 2011.