Law and regulation

A watchdog agency's report reveals a mad dash in 2009 by B of A, Citi and other banks to repay their Tarp funds. Regulators clashed with each other over the repayment terms and ultimately relaxed their own rules.

Nine major servicers regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency completed 180,000 foreclosure actions in the second quarter, but these firms are still managing roughly 1.3 million borrowers who are going through the foreclosure process.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is applauding the Treasury Department for guidance it issued Thursday that would help members of the military avoid foreclosure.

When Michel Barnier of the European Commission singled out auditors for enhanced scrutiny this week, he was reacting to anger, in Europe at least, over the "no bark, no bite" behavior of accounting "watchdogs" before, during, and after the financial crisis.

The Durbin Amendment on debit interchange has been cited as reason for banks to shutter branches. Still, some observers believe it is one of many factors, if not the scapegoat, for closures that were necessary regardless of regulatory change.

Is Bank of America charging for debit cards because it is shortsighted or because it is too bloated to compete against smaller institutions for consumer accounts?

At the bailout law's three-year anniversary, the Small Business Lending Fund has offered some banks a way out. But with that escape hatch now closed, roughly 400 small banks remain stuck in the program.

Bank of America Corp., the largest bank by assets, plans to start charging its checking customers $5 per month, or $60 annually, if they use their debit cards to make purchases. The fees will go into effect early next year.

"In financial ecosystems, evolutionary forces have often been survival of the fattest rather than the fittest." So says Andrew Haldane, Executive Director for Financial Stability at the Bank of England. He is right.

The overall level of current and performing mortgage loans fell slightly in the second quarter as early stage delinquencies ticked up, according to the latest mortgage metrics report.

Rep. Ron Paul will hold a hearing Tuesday on the results of the government's audit of the Federal Reserve's emergency lending programs introduced amid the financial crisis.

Boston Federal Reserve Bank president Eric Rosengren wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to do more to refinance homeowners and address housing market problems.

Consumer statute lawsuits filed against collection agencies and creditors jumped to 530 in the first half of September, compared with 467 in the second half of August, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

Two early decisions on the post-Dodd-Frank preemption standard are wins for the banking industry, but both sides warn the battle is far from over.

The Treasury Department announced the last group of banks that will receive capital under the Small Business Lending Fund, which distributed more than $4 billion to 332 banks, falling far short of industry expectations.

A cloud is hovering over bankers due to the Durbin Amendment and its impending impact on their revenue. However, for bankers who focus on unique opportunities to grow their customer base, these regulatory changes coupled with emerging technologies can present a profitable silver lining.

The vast majority of companies continue to fall short of complying with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard during their initial audit, with 79% failing and only 21% getting a passing grade, contends a report Verizon Communications Inc. released Sept. 28.

A federal court has blocked enforcement of a new rule affecting subprime credit card issuers that the Federal Reserve Board established as a result of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency offered four options for revamping the economics of mortgage servicing earlier this year. Now it's down to two sharply contrasting plans.

International regulators have agreed to keep a proposed capital surcharge on the world's most systemically important firms despite concern among institutions that the extra fee will be excessive and crimp lending.