Law and regulation

The Federal Reserve Board's failure to announce a final decision on Capital One Financial Corp.'s $9 billion deal to buy ING Direct USA has left many observers wondering what's going on behind the scenes.

The Federal Reserve has reached a written agreement with Commerce Bancshares Inc. in Franklin, Tenn.

While the industry waits to see the final, detailed terms of the mortgage servicing settlement, officials released two documents Tuesday summarizing the highlights of the deal.

WASHINGTON – Joseph A. Smith, Jr., who will monitor the 49-state mortgage settlement with the five largest servicers, resigned Tuesday as North Carolina's bank commissioner.

The housing market continues to suffer from a painful and prolonged hangover commensurate with its worst binge in U.S. history and many politicians and Fed officials are anxious for a housing rebound to pull the rest of the economy along.

A quick look at policies, fee revenues and agency budgets in the administration's 2013 proposal - and how it all affects banks.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have allowed government-backed Farm Credit System lenders to make more home loans.

President Obama announced Monday a doubling of a proposed tax on big banks to $61 billion. For the White House, the political appeal is obvious but the proposal itself appears highly unlikely to ever become law.

A U.S. district court has banned a mortgage-relief business that operated a scheme causing consumer losses of nearly $19 million from doing further business.

Rather than wait for government or plaintiff lawyers to find them, banks that were involved in the syndication of mortgage backed securities should control their exposure through a proactive, rigorous self-study program.

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.

Senior Fed officials met Monday in a closed session on Capital One Financial Corp.'s pending acquisition of the U.S. online banking unit of ING Group but did not make a decision. It had delayed a meeting on the deal last week.

The premium increase, expected to be announced in the next week, is one of a series of steps the FHA is taking to avoid a taxpayer bailout.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has requested $448 million from the Federal Reserve in 2013, according to the president's budget proposal, which also outlines the fees that regulators expect to collect from banks this year and would provide significant increases for the CFTC.

The mortgage settlement was a political coup for President Obama and state attorneys general. For banks, it was merely the latest turn in a long and winding effort to put housing problems behind them.

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.