Law and regulation

A common theme running through several news items should give bankers pause on their current tactics for arriving at a new regulatory world.

Participants in a large international credit card-skimming ring allegedly stole credit card data from thousands of U.S. and European consumers over a 16-month period, resulting in at least $13 million in losses, the Queens, N.Y. district attorney’s office announced.

Three former United Commercial Bank executives misled investors by concealing at least $65 million in loan losses before the San Francisco-based lender collapsed in 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Under a proposal issued by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, nonbanks with more than $50 billion in consolidated assets could be subject to designation as systemically important if they meet one of five other thresholds.

Banks are already in the thrall of a new business model even worse than the utility one: the industry is frozen solid in fear both of relentless credit risk and remorseless regulatory requirements.

The agencies responsible for implementing the restriction on proprietary trading have asked the public to respond to hundreds of questions over the next three months that will help shape the final version.

Despite the drop in failure predictions, officials warn that the condition of the economy remains uncertain and give no signs of premium reductions.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh tackles too big to fail, preemption and Basel III in an exclusive video interview with American Banker's Donna Borak

FNB United Corp. is another step closer to completing its proposed acquisition of Bank of Granite Corp. after receiving approval for the deal from the Federal Reserve of Richmond.

Meanwhile, FDIC projects slight improvement in bank-failure costs.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday proposed regulations outlining how banks should restructure their operations to comply with a new ban on risky speculative bets.

A U.S. district court, responding to charges by the Federal Trade Commission, has ordered a defendant who assisted in a wide-ranging government grant scheme to pay $1.68 million, and has banned her from marketing money-making opportunities to consumers.

Big bank critic Arianna Huffington had some unusually kind words for bankers at The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking gala, but she said in an interview that there's still an "enormous amount that needs to be fixed" in the industry.

Two collection agencies that work for the Education Department paid more than $4 million combined in civil penalties in the past year after another federal agency accused them of using abusive language with consumers, making illegal threats and committing other violations of the law.

American Banker editors discuss draft proposals for limiting banks' speculative trading.

2011 Women in Banking Keynote Arianna Huffington: "I owe an enormous amount to bankers."

2011 Women in Banking Keynote Beth Mooney: "We didn't lead with our differences."

2011 Women in Banking Keynote Beth Mooney: "We didn't lead with our differences."

2011 Women in Banking Keynote Heidi Miller: "I was a beneficiary of affirmative action."