Law and regulation

Washington's newest super-agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, sprang into life in July. That bureau was granted remarkable powers by Congress. Consumers and businesses alike will depend on the stability and effectiveness of the new bureau. However, Congress unwittingly may have infected the bureau with the equivalent of a latent computer virus that could damage the CFPB's ability to function, and shatter the expectations of its supporters.

Hubert Humphrey, the former Minnesota attorney general, will serve as director of the CFPB's Office of Older Americans.

Rick Perry, Herman Cain and Mitt Romney all played defense on the issue of bailouts during last night's Republican debate.

The policy focus should be how to ensure no single financial institution becomes a single point of systemic failure – not how to mitigate the fallout when a SIFI fails.

TCF Financial Corp. in Wayzata, Minn., has promoted its chief risk officer, Barry N. Winslow, to head of corporate development as part of a broad management realignment aimed at better competing in an increasingly challenging banking climate.

During testimony on Capitol Hill, the Treasury secretary faces criticism from members of both parties over a slow-moving, smaller-than-expected initiative to boost lending to small businesses.

State attorneys general said issues around the bureau's leadership structure should not stop White House nominee from getting director's job.

Obama singled out Wall Street three times in a speech designed to defend his jobs plan against a Republican alternative in front of a select group of attendees and media at a YMCA gymnasium.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said central banks must pay equal attention to financial stability as on their monetary policy actions.

Porter Bancorp in Louisville, Ky., has been told by the Federal Reserve to ensure that its PBI Bank complies with a consent order issued by the FDIC and the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions.is under orders from the Federal Reserve to serve as a source of strength for its PBI bank.

Mr. Swanick got one thing right in his piece "So Where Are Those Post-Durbin Price Reductions for Consumers?" (Oct. 10): "No one likes price increases, especially when they appear suddenly and without apparent justification." Hidden, unjustified price increases are what the merchant community and our customers have been facing for years with the way big banks and card networks collude to set both credit and debit card interchange swipe fee prices.

Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. have adopted two very different strategies to try to overcome an uncertain economy, increasing regulations and a prolonged slowdown in Wall Street activity — but as their third-quarter results showed on Monday, neither bank has found a foolproof solution.

The U.S. and the world should follow the lead of the U.K. Vickers report and ringfence traditional banking, so shareholder equity and depositors’ money can be used only to lend to viable borrowers.

Rep. Jeff Clemens of Florida has introduced a bill that would make it illegal for banks operating in the state to charge customers monthly fees for using their debit cards.

Steve Antonakes, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's head of supervision, said the agency will rely significantly on policies developed already by the banking regulators. But the focus of exams will be quite different, however, as the CFPB makes consumers their top priority.

Citigroup chief executive Vikram Pandit has not spoken with Occupy Wall Street protestors, bank officials said on Monday, even though he offered to talk "anytime" and Gawker later published his cellphone number.

Ever since the Durbin Amendment was enacted, ultimately cutting the interchange revenue banks get from debit cards by around half, one of the loudest and most persistent complaints has been that the government should not fix prices—at least not for banking.

The Supreme Court is set to decide the contentious issue of whether Respa prohibits lenders from charging borrowers fees defined as 'unearned.'

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday signed off on a set of rules that will require U.S. banks to submit plans that can be used to unwind the firm in the event of a failure.

Citigroup Inc.'s revenue fell in the third quarter, and the bank is struggling to make money from its U.S. operations as investment banking slumps.