Law and regulation

Smartphones are an important window into understanding underbanked customers, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a report released Wednesday in conjunction with a meeting of the agency's advisory committee on economic inclusion.

Regulators appear to have made the right call in failing most of the largest banks' living wills, but it's hard to tell given the dearth of publicly available information, a new government report suggests.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is telling lenders that down payment assistance programs still qualify for FHA backing despite concerns raised last year by HUD's inspector general.

A report by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors found that consolidated companies with money transmitter licenses fell more than 10% from 518 in the first quarter of 2015, to 456 this year.

As a top Republican lawmaker nears the release of a plan aimed at rolling back and replacing the Dodd-Frank Act, bankers are being cautious about offering any support, fearing it may open the door to changes they oppose.

Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay a $70 million penalty in ending the bank's five-year fight to settle legal claims over foreclosure missteps after the 2008 credit crisis.

The compliance technology company Trace International has launched what it bills as the first global, commercial beneficial ownership registry.

Citigroup will pay $425 million to resolve U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission claims that the bank attempted to manipulate global benchmarks for interest rate products multiple times from 2007 to 2012.

The debate over speeding up payments transactions should consider the necessity of allowing consumers time to rethink and abort their purchases.

Better coordination and information sharing needs to be fostered between financial regulators worldwide in order to reduce risks posed by so-called shadow banking sector, a group of international supervisors said Wednesday.

The Obama administration and an independent federal banking agency are advising the Supreme Court not to review a lower-court ruling that has roiled the marketplace lending sector and caused consternation throughout much of the consumer finance industry.

FHFA Director Mel Watt also reiterated concerns regarding insurance companies and large bank members, saying that some Home Loan Banks have large exposures to a few individual members.

In her final congressional appearance before she leaves her job at the end of this week, Fincen Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery also advocated for passage of new anti-money-laundering laws being pushed by the Obama administration.

Everyone agrees that electronic transactions should be as safe as possible, but a PIN mandate will not prevent online or mobile fraud.

In guidance on banks' resolution plans, regulators effectively have made important policy decisions about liquidity transformation that were not subject to notice and comment.

WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill by a voice vote Monday that will make it easier for mortgage originators to take a new job across state lines or move from a federally regulated bank to a nonbank lending shop.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is making an end run around existing regulations to collect new data on overdraft programs, the American Bankers Association claims.

WASHINGTON — Seven financial trade groups announced Monday that they are banding together to push legislation that would extend banklike data security standards to retailers and nonbank businesses.

Nonperforming commercial-and-industrial loans are soaring, and loans to farmers and construction firms — not just oil and gas companies — are a big reason.

A federal appeals court in Manhattan reinstated a civil antitrust case accusing 16 banks of hurting investors who bought securities tied to Libor by manipulating the interest-rate benchmark.