Law and regulation

Recent prosecutions against lenders accused of usury violations will test the government's use of a law more commonly known in organized crime cases.

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are set to release Tuesday a long-awaited proposal to require the biggest banks to retain more liquidity to withstand a prolonged crisis.

The Federal Reserve is giving the public more time to comment on Huntington Bancshares' agreement to buy FirstMerit in Akron, Ohio.

Senate appropriators approved $13 million in new funding to update the Federal Housing Administration's "outdated and unautomated" information technology systems, but rejected President Obama's proposed way of paying for it.

Bankers blamed regulators' new methodologies for rating certain energy loans – and a new two-stage shared national credit review process – for an increase in downgrades and loan-loss provisions. Regulators reportedly are reacting to an increase in second liens tied to exploration and production companies.

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 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected on May 5 to release a proposal that would allow consumers to band together in class action lawsuits even if there is an arbitration agreement.

Regulators had a litany of complaints about big banks' living wills in the assessments released last week, covering everything from cash flow to operational decision making, but one that is flummoxing bankers is an item they say is out of their control: ring-fencing.

A federal district judge ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has no power to investigate the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, an embattled accreditor of for-profit colleges. The ruling marks the first time a court has said the bureau had no jurisdiction and overreached its statutory authority.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer introduced a bill Thursday that is designed to reverse some of the negative effects of legislation enacted last year that cut the dividend the Fed pays larger banks. His bill would allow banks to redeploy capital held at the Fed.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to finalize its second round of mortgage servicing rules in July, a top agency official said. Laurie Maggiano, a program manager for servicing and secondary markets at the CFPB, also offered insights into the bureau's long-anticipated rulemaking on debt collection.

Banking regulators made several critically important changes in their new plan to restrict executive pay at financial institutions after their first attempt flopped in 2011. Here's what they did.

The Paris Agreement on limiting the rise in global temperatures opens up new lending opportunities related to low-carbon projects while highlighting an array of new risks for financial institutions.

Federal regulators unveiled a long-awaited proposal Thursday designed to target incentive-based pay arrangements for executives at banks and credit unions, the agencies' second attempt after their initial plan met fierce resistance.

Global regulators beefed up rules for tackling interest-rate risk in banks' loan books, but stopped short of imposing binding capital requirements after fierce opposition from the financial industry.

Despite his loss in the New York primary on Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz is fighting hard to win the Republican nomination. But eliminating the CFPB could be an even tougher challenge if he is eventually elected president.

WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators have been asking global banks to draw contingency plans for the possibility of Britain's leaving the European Union, according to a Reuters report.

Research published in 2014 found that just 18% of U.S. checking account holders pay 91% of all bank overdraft fees.

Continued doubts over ending "too big to fail" should force managers to elevate underappreciated staff whose job is to attack oncoming risks.

The Federal Reserve's inspector general said the central bank's Board should beef up its safeguards for releasing market-sensitive economic data and policy statements, highlighting risks of its practice of giving journalists some information under embargo.