Law and regulation

A California man pleaded guilty to federal charges of money laundering, mail and wire fraud in connection with a collection agency scam he ran in the state that bilked $2.7 million from customers of clients.

Here we go again. A series of uncoordinated government policies are once more setting up the U.S. banking system for major losses and possibly another financial crisis.

House Democrats who hope to see reductions in mortgage principal as a way to stimulate the economy are turning up the heat on the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The regulators charged with implementing the Volcker Rule have posed a whopping 1,300 questions to the public, but on Wednesday they fielded one query they seemingly hadn't considered.

The GOP front-runner's record is a mix of free-market principles and deep pragmatism. He supported Tarp in 2008, opposes government intervention in foreclosures, and is less rigid than other Republicans on the question of future bank bailouts.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton outlined his plan for lenders before a standing-room-only crowd at the NRF show this week in New York. Clinton asked banks to lower mortgage values and interest rates in exchange for a share of the money earned for selling the home in a recovered market.

A group of state associations, led by Utah, has developed an electronic, anonymous survey bankers complete after each exam. The survey is already helping the industry pinpoint points of agreement and discord between banks and their examiners.

Before changes are made to money fund regulation there should be a full assessment of the SEC’s enhancements to its oversight of funds, as well as a searching inquiry into the potential impact of any of the proposed reforms on investors, on issuers of commercial paper, and on the economy as a whole.

The nation's attorneys general, the Department of Justice, and HUD are "very close" to finalizing a legal settlement to settle 'robosigning' allegations levied against the nation's dozen or so top ranked servicers, HUD secretary Shaun Donovan said Wednesday morning.

Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, brings a different perspective to a sister agency long focused on safety and soundness.

West Virginia officials reached a $13.5 million settlement with Capital One, which allegedly used misleading advertising to attract customers before saddling them with debts.

Acting Comptroller John Walsh expressed concern Tuesday about the impact of the Volcker Rule on the competitiveness of U.S. banks internationally.

Often ignored in the current political environment, Mitt Romney gave clues to his banking positions before, during and after the financial crisis.

The Federal Reserve Board has ordered Southwest Florida Community Bancorp Inc. to maintain its health so that it can serve as a source of strength for its ailing bank subsidiary, First Community Bank of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers.

Cordray sides with other board members on FDIC stress test proposal, while also showing off his sense of humor.

The bureau is holding a hearing on payday lending this week in Birmingham, Ala. — the heart of the districts served by two of its biggest critics.

Dozens of small banks in California remain under enforcement actions, leading some industry observers to predict an impending wave of regulator-led consolidation.

If financial-services companies have any reservations about being appointed the front-line enforcers for copyright protections under proposed anti-piracy legislation, now would be their time to strike.

Wikipedia and the White House have weighed in against SOPA. If payments processors and banks don't want to be front-line enforcers of copyrights, now's the time to lobby for changes.

Citigroup's traditional banking businesses improved but could not offset a fourth-quarter revenue slump in investment banking, which Chief Executive Vikram Pandit has relied on to help revive the bank.