Law and regulation

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.

The House Financial Services Committee said Friday it plans to open an investigation into the fraudulent account openings at Wells Fargo and will hold a hearing soon on the issue.

Big banks' flirtation with the idea of suing the Federal Reserve Board over its stress testing regime carries significant political risk and even if successful could yield at best a pyrrhic victory over the megabanks' primary regulator.

Mixed messaging on fin tech doesn't just emanate from the halls of Congress. It can also be found at the regulatory level as well.

Unlike Wells Fargo's unauthorized account openings, concerns in 2003 about banks discounting rates on loans in exchange for customers buying investment-banking products were less about consumer protection than the potential harm to credit quality and competition.

Deutsche Bank said the U.S. Justice Department is seeking $14 billion to settle a probe tied to residential mortgage-backed securities, more money than it's willing to pay.

Still smarting from criticism after it failed to prosecute any high-level executives following the financial crisis, Justice Department investigators are likely to target senior executives at Wells Fargo as they investigate wrongdoing there, according to former DOJ officials.

House Democrats made an unusual move this week to avoid offering amendments or engaging in debate over a massive financial reform bill. Here's why.

Kentucky district court judge rules that the courts cannot interfere with the GSE regulator's wind down of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Reserve's annual stress testing regime violates federal administrative law, a coalition of banking groups said in a white paper released Thursday, likely previewing a court battle that could have far-reaching consequences for the program.

Federal prosecutors are investigating Wells Fargo in connection with the bank’s sales practices after it agreed to pay $190 million in fines and restitution for opening more than 2 million unauthorized accounts, according to a person familiar with the Justice Department investigation.

John Stumpf was coasting toward a carefully planned retirement. But the outcry over sham accounts at the San Francisco bank has put him in a precarious position as he testifies in front of Congress next week.

The revelation of widespread fraud at Wells Fargo branches suggests that no matter how well run a large bank appears to be, it can't detect systemic problems within its own ranks.

With the risk-taking culture at big banks — including that which contributed to the Wells Fargo fiasco — it's a good thing the House bill to weaken Dodd-Frank will never become law.

New recommendations by the Federal Reserve Board are a crucial step in the direction of much-needed restructuring of the U.S. financial sector.

Chairman Jeb Hensarling's financial reform bill was approved by the Financial Services Committee along mostly party lines as Democrats declined to offer amendments to legislation they said was too flawed to begin with.

In a new proposal, the agency detailed how it plans to invoke an obscure banking law to levy receivership powers over noninsured national financial institutions – which could include fintech companies – if they were to fail.

WASHINGTON — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced the proposal of a state regulation requiring banks to develop and maintain a cybersecurity program. The plan, the first of its kind in the nation, could have far-reaching effects on some of the nation's largest banks.

The revelation that thousands of Wells Fargo employees committed what amounted to fraud just put the final nail in the coffin for the effort to change the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — at least for the foreseeable future.

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposes new small-dollar lending rules, it has also sought comment on an alternative plan that would open the door to banks providing more lower-income credit solutions.