Law and regulation

Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide Financial unit was exonerated of allegations that it sold defective residential mortgage loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with an appeals court throwing out a judgment against the bank of more than $1.2 billion.

Joseph Fellerman, a former special adviser at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., was one of the first people at the agency to research systemic resolution. Now, the agency is better prepared to handle the next big crash, he told the American Banker in a sit-down interview.

The nascent industry's early success will mean very little if these new companies don't take necessary steps to position themselves for the long term.

The secondary marketing agency wants to model how servicers' available cash might stand up to shocks because interruptions to that liquidity have been a common problem among those that failed.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has extended the comment period on a plan that would require large banks to keep better track of their insured deposits, while making clear it will not extend it to community banks.

An industry-led committee — convened under the auspices of U.S. and international regulators — has narrowed its scope of potential replacements to the widely referenced and ignoble interbank offered rates to two, but there's still a long way to go before an heir is crowned.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton appears likely to embrace a recent plan to merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a single government corporation if she wins the White House.

Banks and nonbanks should accept that more fintech regulation is inevitable, but how far regulators go will depend in part on how well companies demonstrate they are managing risk.

As the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. grapples with a series of newly revealed cybersecurity incidents, the U.S. government is prosecuting a former agency employee over a 2012 breach.

Banco del Austro said in a lawsuit filed in New York against Wells Fargo that hackers got access to the codes the bank uses to move money via Swift, the global interbank network, and used them to transfer funds from the U.S. bank.

In his first public remarks this year, Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo offered a preview of the enhanced capital and liquidity requirements that certain insurers will soon face.

Regulators have abused their role of implementing law to actually make financial policy, usurping the role of Congress in a tripartite system.

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.

A new Labor Department regulation designed to make more American workers eligible for overtime pay stands to add costs and slow hiring at community banks.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday won the right to pursue a lawsuit against several large financial institutions accused of selling tainted mortgage securities to a company that has since failed.

The agency posted its semiannual rulemaking agenda on a blog late Wednesday updating the next steps it will take on several areas of rulemaking. The CFPB expects to issue rules for prepaid reloadable cards, mortgage servicing and mortgage disclosures this summer but set no specific deadlines yet on overdraft and debt collection.

The Justice Department filed suit Thursday against Guild Mortgage, arguing the firm violated the False Claims Act by improperly originating and underwriting Federal Housing Administration loans.

If the DAO, an automated, leaderless "company," lives up to the hype, it could radically transform corporate finance and governance. But many wonder if the entity's record crowd sale is kosher under securities laws.

Interest in smart contracts is growing, in part because of the promise of lower legal expenses. But the programmers of these self-enforcing, automated agreements will still need to consult with lawyers to translate the terms into code.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari made waves when he said drastic measures — including potentially breaking up the megabanks — are needed to end "too big to fail." In an expansive interview, Kashkari talked about his political future, the culture at the Fed and the challenge of legislating change.