Law and regulation

State regulators closed three banks along the East Coast late Friday afternoon: Blue Ridge Savings Bank in Asheville, N.C.; Piedmont Community Bank in Gray, Ga.; and First State Bank in Cranford, N.J.

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee recommends a hike in the guarantee fees charged by Fannie and Freddie that would raise more money than what the administration has proposed.

L.A. team produces hilarious parody of Warren's populist candidacy, and the portrayal of the creator of the CFPB may help the Massachusetts Senate candidate.

Republicans are pushing for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be run by a board of Senate-confirmed appointees instead of a single director, but some question if it would have much impact.

WASHINGTON — One day after introduction of a bipartisan bill to repeal the new debit interchange cap, supporters of that cap struck back Oct. 13 by calling for an antitrust investigation into whether banks and trade groups are colluding on prices.

The operators of a credit repair company have been charged by the Federal Trade Commission with making false statements to credit bureaus about information in consumers’ credit reports, and illegally collecting fees from consumers before performing services.

In less than a year, the insurance giant has gone from aiming for the top five in home lending to putting its origination business on the block.

Independent ATM operators are launching a new legal strike against Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., seeking to toss out standardized access fees imposed by the companies.

The economic pain inflicted on millions of citizens and businesses by the collapse and eventual bailouts of some of Wall Street’s largest financial firms reveals why community banks should continue to distinguish themselves from systemically risky financial firms.

Proponents of national servicing standards aren't gaining much traction in their efforts to eliminate conflicts of interest.

A new examination manual from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights a chapter on procedures for evaluating mortgage servicers.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced a prompt corrective action against Anchor Commercial Bank in Juno Beach, Fla., after the bank failed to provide the Fed with an acceptable capital restoration plan.

Independent ATM operators and a trade association have filed a new suit charging that Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide network rules unlawfully prohibit ATM operators from offering lower prices for transactions over PIN-debit networks that are not affiliated with the two companies.

"Face It, Bankers: You're Not Apple" by Andy Sobel [BankThink, Oct. 11, p. 21] contends banking shouldn't focus on innovation and instead should act like the utility sector. It conjures a Prius-driving straw man who only wants his bank to deliver cash from the ATM – "a human right," as utilities deliver water from the faucet.

With millions of American homeowners living under a Sword of Damocles otherwise known as foreclosure, expect to see more protestors turning out to block evictions and sheriff’s sales.

In the 2008 elections, the largest U.S. banks gave far more money to Barack Obama than John McCain, and more generally, favored Democratic candidates over Republicans.But after passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the same banks are favoring Mitt Romney over President Obama. And they've tilted their contributions more toward Republican candidates.This slideshow looks at changes in campaign-finance trends at the largest banks over the last four years.

HUD is seeking comments on a proposed rule that would allow Farm Credit System lenders the ability to make FHA-backed loans. Since Farm Credit is already a GSE, bankers oppose the proposed rule.

Zombie mortgages, or home loans that are worth more than the underlying collateral of the house, are impeding a recovery in home sales and in the broader economy, according to Barclays Capital chief economist Dean Maki.

Congress should require the Federal Home Loan Banks to pay for an explicit government guarantee on their debt, according to a former GSE regulator and congressman.

President Obama, who has criticized Bank of America specifically and big banks in general, is scheduled to accept his party's nomination in the institution's home town.