Law and regulation

Lots of bankers have lost their focus on customers, lending and costs. Instead they tune in on distractions, such as politics and regulatory policy. I don't think that's good, but let's use it to shape a strategy that gets results.

Official Washington turned out in force last week to fete Neil Milner's retirement after 15 years heading the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

Richard Syron, the former chief executive officer of Freddie Mac, and Daniel Mudd, ex-CEO of Fannie Mae, were sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over disclosures they made about subprime loans.

Legislation in the Senate could be key for small banks to deregister from the SEC.

A lawsuit brought by a group of retail associations and retailers against the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System asks the courts to find the board's rules to implement the debit card swipe fee requirements of the Durbin amendment to be "arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion."

Banks have been much maligned for nickel-and-diming their customers, but in another area — cardholder fraud protections — they are being praised as consumer champions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will begin taking tips from whistleblowers about violations of federal consumer financial laws.

With even President Obama weighing in on the need to approve Richard Cordray as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head, the Democrats see a chance to paint their obstructionist rivals at anti-consumer.

Under proposals by Rep. Scott Garrett and Sen. Bob Corker, the Federal Housing Finance Agency would once again see its role transformed.

The bank's announcement that it will adopt an easy-to-read disclosure form for checking account fees draws applause from Senate Democrats.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has simplified the disclosure forms for its checking accounts, becoming the first large back to adopt model disclosures proposed by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

WASHINGTON – Key congressional backers of a 2009 law that strengthened consumer protections for credit card users are now concerned that the Federal Reserve Board has gone too far with regulations that could restrict credit to stay-at-home mothers.

Why did PricewaterhouseCoopers allow MF Global financial statements to be issued with a clean audit opinion? Why wasn't there a "going concern" warning?

The Volcker Rule is a mass of complexity. PWC's Dan Ryan explains how it's likely to evolve and what bankers need to do to cope.

The head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau talks about the challenges of building a new agency, quelling fear of the bureau among the industry, working with other regulators, and preparing for 2012.

The community banking sector is starving for capital, and yet debate is dominated by complaints about regulatory burden. Instead, banks need to push regulators to let private equity investors assist small institutions.

Kenya has introduced rules to compel banks and card networks to improve their security standards to check the rise in ATM fraud in the East African country.

Lawsuits citing Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violations reached 10,788 this year through Nov. 30. Last year, the 10,000 mark was reached on Dec. 1.

A top OCC official faced sharp questions about the ties between mortgage servicers and the consultants that are reviewing their past business practices.

The Office of Financial Research, established by the Dodd-Frank Act to help regulators identify and thwart systemic risk events, faces a daunting task.