Law and regulation

This is the time of year when bank boards of directors and management begin the strategic planning process for the following year. There will be few years in the careers of any of us that will provide as many seemingly one-time events as will this coming year, 2012.

In testimony on Capitol Hill, Freddie Mac chief executive officer Charles Haldeman Jr. and Fannie Mae president and CEO Michael Williams said that competitive salaries and bonuses are necessary to keep employees who can run the firms effectively.

It's time for our regulators to think broadly about what our financial system needs and then take a stand. Simply grinding out Dodd-Frank proposals that no one understands — like the risk-retention proposal and the Volcker Rule release — is not the answer.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is asking students, colleges and lenders for information on the private student loan market that will inform a joint report to Congress required by the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has established new guidelines governing the setting up and management of offsite ATMs in hopes of spreading financial inclusion across the country.

A lawsuit by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office against Unicredit America Inc.'s former president can continue even though he declared bankruptcy.

The U.S. Treasury is looking beyond the insured banking system in an effort to improve the delivery of viable credit alternatives to consumers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received a clean bill of health from the Government Accountability Office in its first annual report of the bureau's finances.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac late Tuesday afternoon released a somewhat detailed bulletin on the underwriting guidelines for refinancing underwater borrowers with GSE loans, segmenting what's allowable based on the loan-to-value (LTV) and if the product is being offered by the current servicer.

A bill by Rep. Spencer Bachus passed overwhelmingly in the House Financial Services Committee to cap senior executives pay at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The director of the CFPB's Office for Older Americans said the bureau plans to raise awareness of the growing problem of elder financial abuse. Democrats used the hearing to reemphasize that the bureau can't fully protect seniors until a permanent director is confirmed.

A new book and piece by 60 Minutes have raised issues about whether Rep. Spencer Bachus traded on private information he received from regulators during the financial crisis.

DeMarco takes responsibility for the $12 million in payments, but says they were necessary to ensure top talent at the government-sponsored enterprises.

The world now knows which 28 giant banks will be required to post extra capital. Much else about the Basel III regime remains uncertain.

County and state officials are turning up the heat on MERS, as recent lawsuits filed in Michigan, Florida, Delaware and Texas challenge the validity and accuracy of the mortgage industry-controlled loan registry.

In a speech to banking industry officials, Jim Freis noted that nonbanks will soon face similar anti-money laundering restrictions as banks.

A New Jersey lawyer charged with stealing $1 million from a client has been apprehended in Alabama after an apparent attempt to avoid prosecution.

Lawmakers are near a deal to increase the maximum size of mortgage loans that can be insured by the Federal Housing Administration, a crucial source of mortgages for first-time home buyers, congressional aides said Monday.

The political jousting over the structure and leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues, but the real work of the agency and its professionals has begun. That work will ultimately determine, among other things, whether the CFPB will be a rules-based or enforcement-based agency.

Government-issued payment cards can be fraught with peril, provoking the ire of unemployed and disabled consumers and their advocates, who are increasingly sensitive to being charged bank fees of any kind.