Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — President Obama's signing of regulatory reform legislation Wednesday signaled the official end of a hard-fought legislative battle but just the beginning of the tougher task of implementing the new law.

U.S. Bancorp may reduce or eliminate debit card reward programs and offset actions in its acquiring business in response to financial reforms that likely will reduce debit card interchange revenues, Andrew Cecere, vice chairman and chief financial officer, told analysts July 21 during a conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings.

Though the financial-reform bill President Obama signed into law this morning has “too many imponderables” to estimate its financial impact, Well Fargo & Co. likely will experience a combined $525 million pretax impact over the next two quarters from the effects of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act and new opt-in requirements for overdraft-protection programs, Howard Atkins, Wells chief financial officer, told analysts during a conference call this morning to discuss second-quarter earnings.

WASHINGTON — President Obama signed into law Wednesday a sweeping overhaul of the nation's financial services system in a widely attended ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington.

President Obama is expected to sign the financial reform bill on Wednesday, according to lobbyists and sources on Capitol Hill.

President Obama is widely expected to sign the banking reform act that Congress approved July 15, but practical considerations in implementing the legislation’s debit card interchange provisions could wipe out the protection lawmakers established for smaller institutions, concludes a report banking research firm Celent LLC released this month.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office announced the criminal conviction and civil settlement in a bribery case and Medicaid scam involving a collection agency and its owner.

Merchant Warehouse Inc., a Boston-based independent sales organization that offers software designed to help small retailers find the lowest-cost processing for card transactions, could benefit from Congress’ approval July 15 of the Dodd-Frank Act, says Henry Helgeson, the company’s co-CEO.

Though the Federal Reserve Board has yet to determine debit card interchange rates as mandated under the federal financial-reform bill Congress approved July 15, the decrease in annualized debit card revenue before mitigation at Bank of America Corp. could approach $2 billion starting in the third quarter of next year, Charles Noski, BofA Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, told analysts this morning during a conference call to discuss second quarter earnings (see story).

Even before President Obama has signed the landmark bank reform bill into law credit union lobbyists were moving their attention to the Federal Reserve, which the new law will direct to monitor and possibly set price caps on debit card interchange.

New York law firm Cohen & Slamowitz, which has 14 lawyers on staff, files an estimated 80,000 lawsuits each year, according to a report in the New York Times.

Federal Recovery Acceptance Inc., dba Paramount Acceptance, a Utah-based collection agency, agreed to pay $55,000 in penalties and fees for conducting unlicensed collections work in Idaho, according to the Idaho Department of Finance.

The U.S. Senate turned away the concerns of community banks, credit unions and the vast majority of Republican members Thursday afternoon to vote final passage of the financial reform bill by a vote of 60 to 39, sending the measure on for President Obama to sign into law.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate turned away the concerns of community banks, credit unions and the vast majority of Republican members this afternoon to vote final passage of the financial reform bill by a vote of 60 to 39, sending the measure on for President Obama to sign into law.

Regulatory reform survived its last significant hurdle Thursday with the Senate moving to block further changes and hold a final vote on the bill.

Senate Democrats narrowly blocked a filibuster on the bank bill waged by Republicans this morning and headed toward a final vote on the landmark bill, despite avid opposition by community banks and credit unions over the interchange amendment.

Iowa Republican Charles Grassley announced yesterday he will change his vote on the bank reform bill and vote no this time, but the Democrats still appear to have the 60 votes they need to overcome a planned filibuster by the Republicans when the Senate moves for final passage, expected as early as today.

The Senate has passed legislation delaying the implementation of some of the provisions of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act, potentially avoiding the destruction of millions of gift cards.

With the votes lined up, the Senate is set to vote as early as Thursday on financial regulatory reform. It would then go to President Obama, who is expected to sign the sweeping bill into law soon.

With the votes lined up, the Senate is set to vote as early as Thursday on financial regulatory reform. It would then go to President Obama, who is expected to sign the sweeping bill into law soon.