Law and regulation

A bipartisan duo of lawmakers announced Monday they are forming the Congressional Blockchain Caucus in an effort to educate policymakers on digital currency and related issues.

Debbie Matz, a former chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, has joined the board of Mutual of Omaha Bank in Nebraska.

American Express can prohibit merchants from steering customers to credit cards with lower transaction fees, a federal appeals court ruled in a case involving about $50 billion of merchant fees annually.

American Express Co. can prohibit merchants from steering customers to credit cards with lower transaction fees, a federal appeals court ruled in a case involving about $50 billion of merchant fees annually.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday fined a large auto title lender $9 million for failing to disclose the terms and costs of its title loans in three states, and for illegally exposing consumers' information to their employers.

In a speech Monday, Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo outlined sweeping changes to the Fed's hallmark supervisory program, including bank-specific — but substantially higher — capital minimums and dropping a qualitative grade for all but the largest and most complex banks.

Candi Wolff of Citigroup and Anita Eoloff of Wells Fargo are two of the most powerful banking lobbyists in the nation’s capital, but they don’t think the transformation of their once male-dominated field is done, nor do they think everything about the past should be abandoned.

The staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission is working on a proposal to amend the current diversity disclosure rule to require more specificity, including information on the race, gender and ethnicity of board members and nominees. Here's why.

Arkansas regulators have closed the $66.3 million-asset Allied Bank in Mulberry, the fifth institution to fail this year.

First Bancorp in Southern Pines, N.C., has terminated loss-share agreements tied to a pair of failed-bank acquisitions.

As the U.S. prepares to face the results of an evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force for its anti-money-laundering and terrorist financing efforts, there are signs that it might receive a bad grade.

In an announcement Friday afternoon, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker said his regional bank is launching an "Agenda on Poverty and Prosperity" to provide research and recommendations to Fed leaders on the interaction between poverty and economic growth.

Lisa McDougald, the deputy general counsel at the $222 billion-asset BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Leon Holschbach, chief executive at Midland States Bancorp, a $3 billion-asset company in Effingham, Ill., were appointed to the board this summer.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit this week against a Van Nuys, Calif., credit repair company for deceptively marketing its services and charging consumers illegal fees.

The Federal Reserve Board made good Friday on a pledge to target big banks' investments in physical commodities like gas pipelines and precious metals, unveiling a proposal that would raise capital requirements for such holdings while stopping short of an outright ban.

A compliance-at-all-costs mentality, which is the overarching attitude in many banks, results in overspending and overallocating valuable resources to meet both real and perceived compliance standards.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

An independent chairman could uncover or minimize damage from fraud while also meting out punishment more impartially after the fact. The longtime corporate governance argument has new legs in light of the account scam at Wells Fargo, whose board is led by CEO John Stumpf.

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are not moving fast enough on fintech, prompting Rep. Patrick McHenry to introduce a bill designed to give them a push.

Banks are dumping their mortgage servicing rights because low rates and new rules make it hard to earn a profit. SunTrust, Flagstar and First South Bancorp in North Carolina are taking the opposite view.