Law and regulation

The administration's proposal predicts the fund will return to the red through 2015. But its estimates are inconsistent with FDIC projections, which industry officials like Jim Chessen said were more reliable.

Greg Gonzales closed two banks last month and a slew of new problem banks could keep him busy this year. In a recent interview, he says his strategy gives struggling banks a reality check, but enough rope as possible to solve their problems.

The White House plans to ask the largest U.S. firms to pay a $61 billion 'bank tax,' part of which will be used to pay for the administration's massive refinancing plan.

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.

Sen. Tim Johnson has asked government watchdog agencies to look into whether examiners are being too tough on community banks. The move comes amid a fight over the issue between banks and their regulators.

Those $1,500-$2,500 checks being sent to foreclosed-upon borrowers wouldn't cover Jamie Dimon's travel expenses to Davos.

Many small banks have never accepted that an exemption from the Durbin amendment will protect them from the measure's roughly 50% cut in debit interchange rates. Earnings at banks with assets of less than $10 billion appear to have been entirely untouched by the cap in the first quarter since its Oct. 1 implementation, however.

U.S. banks should take notice of the latest developments with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a tax-evasion law aimed primarily at foreign banks.

For the moment, the job of ensuring that the nation's largest banks comply with the terms of last week's mammoth mortgage settlement falls on just one man: Joseph A. Smith, Jr., North Carolina's banking commissioner.

Colony Bankcorp Inc. in Fitzgerald, Ga., will suspend paying a dividend on preferred stock that the Treasury Department holds and interest payments on some junior debt.

President Obama's January 4th recess appointment of Richard Cordray as head of the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has threatened to set-off a contentious legal challenge in an already polarized Congress.

A coalition of bank and credit-union lobbyists joined the ATM industry in requesting legislation to stop lawsuits alleging violation of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.

A plan by regulators to reduce banks' reliance on credit ratings may ultimately overstate capital requirements, improperly account for risk sensitivity and put U.S. firms at a competitive disadvantage, according to the largest banks and their representatives.

There is no such thing as a "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau." That’s a false label. Rather, there is a Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection ("BCFP," if you like), established by Title X of the "Dodd-Frank Act."

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed two Midwestern banks Friday, bringing the failure tally so far this year to nine. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as the receiver of the failed national banks, was able to find other institutions to resolve the failures.

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics — news that comes at an uncomfortable time, since Bachus is currently in the midst of a re-election fight.

The $25 billion multistate mortgage settlement requires banks to conduct an extensive review of foreclosures against military borrowers, and could cost millions more in compensation.

Housing prices will continue to decline slightly through 2012 but will begin to rebound in 2013, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

After 100 years of having a federal charter, Frost says new reform law has increased the value of state regulation.

The Texas Bankers Association is irked about the National Credit Union Administration's decision to infuse $60 million into the otherwise insolvent Texans Credit Union.