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.

Five policy heavy-hitters issued a proposal this week to merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a single government corporation as a way to move beyond the conservatorships of the two government-sponsored enterprises.

Experts see the British bank's decision to downsize its African stake as another example of money-laundering concerns and other risks prompting institutions to get out of emerging markets.

Two senior GOP lawmakers are warning regulators against preferential treatment for housing advocates and nonprofits in sales of nonperforming, government-guaranteed mortgages.

Hackers linked to the Iranian government launched a series of cyber-attacks on U.S. financial institutions including Bank of America Corp. and the New York Stock Exchange, federal prosecutors say.

The former chief executive of a failed bank in Lincoln, Neb., was sentenced to 11 years in prison for forming a scheme to hide more than $100 million in losses from shareholders and regulators.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday issued an advisory for banks and credit unions on how to prevent and respond to elder abuse.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency appears poised finally to allow principal reductions, but it's been nearly a decade since the mortgage crisis and underwater borrowers are much fewer thanks to higher home values.

The first protection a consumer needs is the assurance that any new reforms will not inadvertently drive all regulated credit from the market.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at whether mortgage servicers are boosting profits by prematurely unleashing debt collectors on delinquent borrowers, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at whether mortgage servicers are boosting profits by prematurely unleashing debt collectors on delinquent borrowers, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has implemented a new rule that broadens the ability of lenders in rural and underserved areas to originate qualified mortgages.

Military families and service members are submitting debt collection complaints at twice the rate of other consumers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday in a report.

Bank of New York Mellon has agreed to pay $3 million to settle an investigation into its handling last year of a major software system crash.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew cast doubt Tuesday on whether recent moves by large nonbank firms to sell assets were driven by a desire to shed their regulatory label of "systemically important."

The agency may finally be reaching resolution on whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow principal reductions, two years into Director Mel Watt's tenure as agency director and nearly a decade after the mortgage bubble burst.

The House passed a bill late Monday to extend foreclosure relief for military service members through the end of next year.

The Clearing House Association, a trade group including some of the largest U.S. banks, said in a comment letter Tuesday that the Fed’s proposed countercyclical capital buffer plan potentially violates administrative procedure laws.

Bangladesh's central bank has suggested the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had a "major lapse" in allowing hackers to transfer $101 million in transactions that it later flagged as suspicious, according to an internal document seen by Bloomberg.

The sheer volume of regulations adds time and expense to closings without much benefit when consumers’ main interest is to get funds as quickly as possible.