Law and regulation

Businesses around the country appeared more willing to apply for loans in the last quarter of 2011, the Fed said.

With President Obama touting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a symbol of his support for the little guy, Republicans struggle for a response that resonates with voters.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released supplemental guidance Wednesday to its exam manual, which will help examiners looking at mortgage origination at both banks and nonbanks.

While most banks have stayed mum about Richard Corday's recess appointment, Citigroup weighed in with its analysis in a blog post Wednesday.

Alexi Giannoulias, a former Illinois Treasurer whose 2010 Senate campaign was clouded by the failure of his family's bank, has landed a new job at Bank of New York Mellon.

The former special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program blasts the Obama Administration for failing to support its own housing programs

The Federal Housing Finance Agency needs to develop specific rules to determine when it needs to take action against a troubled Federal Home Loan Bank, the agency's watchdog said.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is considering broadening protections for customer money in both the over-the-counter derivatives and futures markets after the failure of broker-dealer MF Global left customers short as much as $1.2 billion.

PARK CITY, UTAH –Consumer advocates still aren’t sure if new federal caps on debit card interchange will end up helping or hurting consumers.

The CFPB can and should impose safeguards against predatory payday lending institutions. And big banks should take heed and stop providing these lenders with lines of credit.

Two GOP senators took strong exception to recent suggestions by Fed officials that more should be done to fix the U.S. housing market.

For all the talk about legal challenges to the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the American Financial Services Association, which represents nonbank consumer lenders, has no intention of stepping into the fray.

The Dodd-Frank Act in general, and in particular its favorite child, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, represent sharp political disputes, as now with bypassing the Senate by the "recess" appointment of its director.

Michael Williams, the president and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae, announced plans to step down as soon as a successor can be appointed, according to a company filing issued Tuesday to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Securities and Exchange Commission wants banks and other financial institutions to provide more detail about their exposure to European sovereign debt so that investors would have a clearer picture of the firms' overall health.

Lawmakers show deep interest in staying involved with 'Volcker Rule' during the implementation phase, and regulators may actually be grateful.

PHH, the nation's largest private mortgage company, has been notified by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that it is the subject of an investigation into potentially improper reinsurance payments.

Peggy Twohig, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's associate director for nonbank supervision, canceled her appearance at a bank lawyers' conference "at the last minute," the conference organizers said Tuesday.

Lawyers involved in the big banks' robo-signing practices are finding themselves increasingly targeted by angry homeowners, who are filing complaints with state bar associations.

Republican Jon Huntsman is putting a conservative imprint on the idea of breaking up the largest banks.