Law and regulation

In hinting that the consumer bureau should look at B of A's $5 debit card fee, Obama has solidified bankers' worst fears about the CFPB.

Consumer lending experts urged a Senate panel on Tuesday to confirm a director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week.

Fed chief tells congressional panel that banks have limited exposure to Greece and Portugal, but face other threats from sovereign debt problems.

Legislation introduced by Democratic Rep. Brad Miller would ban certain practices that he says make it difficult for some customers to change banks.

Capitalizing on consumer outrage over a $5 monthly debit card fee Bank of America Corp. plans to impose, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is urging smaller banks to seize the “competitive opportunity” and go after unhappy BofA customers while suggesting the issuer would prefer its customers use credit cards instead.

Many bankers believe issues with classified loans are limiting them from making loans or pursuing acquisitions.

Federal Reserve governor Sarah Bloom Raskin on Tuesday pressed for changes in mortgage servicing agreements to encourage more workouts of troubled loans.

American Banker's Rob Blackwell explains why lenders may learn to love the agency's forthcoming mortgage disclosure rules.

The California AG's decision to withdraw from mortgage settlement talks has effectively killed a multi-state deal with the top five mortgage servicers over claims of robo-signing and other foreclosure issues.

An investigation by the Office of Inspector for the Federal Housing Finance Agency says the agency had information as early as 2009 about potentially abusive foreclosure practices, but did nothing to investigate them.

President Obama on Monday pointed to Bank of America Corp.'s decision to charge some of its customers a $5 monthly fee for debit-card purchases as an example of why the U.S. needs a strong consumer watchdog.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York may ask foreign lenders for more detailed daily reports on liquidity as the U.S. steps up monitoring of risks from Europe's sovereign debt crisis, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

While the effective demise of settlement talks between the state attorneys general and the top mortgage services has its downsides, it may ultimately turn out to be a good thing for banks.

The senator who authored new interchange rules says that by imposing a $5 monthly fee on debit-card customers, Bank of America will be overcharging its customers.

The Department of Financial Services officially launched Monday and will focus on modernizing regulations and consumer protections.

There are 7, 500 banks in this country. Of those, 6,800 have asset sizes of a billion dollars or less. This diversity enables our banking system to support the world's largest and most dynamic economy, and it is what sets us apart from other countries whose banking industries are highly concentrated. Prosperous, American-based global enterprises — which do business with America's largest banks — beget mid-size suppliers that are served by regional banks. Small businesses in this supply chain are in turn nurtured by community banks, which work to make Main Streets across America vibrant.

Europe’s lingering debt crisis likely will cause some European banks to be wary of adhering to a pending deadline to accept euros as a common currency for electronic cross-border payments as part of the Single Euro Payments Area for eurozone countries, new research indicates.

State Bank Financial has bought 10 failed banks since 2009, and CEO Joe Evans discusses his outlook for more deals. He also discusses challenges with loan demand, and the long-term outlook for his bank in its core markets of Atlanta and Macon, Ga.

The Financial Stability Board proposed several policies Monday for lowering the risk giant firms pose to the system, including principles for resolution regimes, ahead of next month's Group of 20 summit in France.

The Treasury secretary and the Fed chair figure are likely to face tough questioning from lawmakers, among several other events in D.C.