Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board released an interim rule Thursday implementing a congressionally mandated reduction in the Fed dividend for banks with over $10 billion in assets.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt stopped short of calling for Treasury to recapitalize the government-sponsored enterprises, but said "something needs to be done" before they run out of capital.

Centrue Financial in Ottawa, Ill., has been released from an enforcement action that had prohibited the company from paying dividends without regulatory approval.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will release its Quarterly Banking Profile for the fourth quarter of 2015 on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — A public interest coalition is calling on bank regulators to declare the drinking water contamination in Flint, Mich., a "disaster" and encourage lenders from around the country to extend credit to the area in order to counteract the damage.

President Obama on Wednesday named Thomas Donilon, the former national security adviser, to chair a special commission to develop a long-term cybersecurity strategy.

Banks are enthusiastic about innovation that involves both traditional institutions and nonbanks, but a more cohesive regulatory landscape is needed for cooperation between banks and fintech to grow even more.

The former Harvard law professor is a long-shot choice for the high court and would face fierce Republican opposition, but she could help rally the Democrats ahead of the presidential election.

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday named Thomas Donilon, the former national security adviser, to chair a special commission to develop a long-term cybersecurity strategy.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is launching a 10-day social media campaign, #HARPNow, to alert struggling homeowners in 10 states that they can still refinance via the program before it expires at year-end.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is moving forward with a plan to force big banks to keep better track of their insured deposits.

The NCUA's plan to expand credit unions' business-lending powers generated more than 3,000 comment letters, mostly from bankers urging a "no" vote. But the agency's board is expected to stick by its original proposal.

While little is known about what regulators are weighing as they grade the 12 biggest firms' resolution plans, experts deeply familiar with the process are speculating that liquidity could be a determining factor in whether the plans are deemed credible or sent back to the drawing board.

Regions Financial in Birmingham, Ala., has been restricted from acquiring other banks or opening new branches after it received a Community Reinvestment Act downgrade.

Compared to other countries with fewer banks, the faster payments initiative in the U.S. will require a far greater level of collaboration and participation.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice on Tuesday released guidelines for the implementation of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, prompting some industry skepticism as well as renewed privacy concerns.

The burgeoning industry has been hoping the Supreme Court would overturn a problematic lower-court ruling, but the unexpected passing of a conservative stalwart makes that outcome less likely.

Lawmakers' move to cap the Federal Reserve's capital surplus to help pay for highway improvements made the central bank one of the least capitalized financial institutions in the country.

In what could be seen as a Nixon-to-China moment, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, a former Goldman Sachs executive and one of the architects of Treasury's bailout of the largest banks, said that breaking up the big banks and turning them into public utilities may be the only way to solve "too big to fail."

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said Congress hasn't gone far enough to protect the U.S. economy from potential crises and unveiled plans to study options for regulators that include breaking up the nation's largest financial institutions.