Law and regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should have direct oversight of auto dealers instead of being forced to go through indirect auto lenders to make changes to the market, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., suggested Wednesday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stepped up efforts Wednesday to encourage banks to offer simple checking and savings accounts, but many institutions said it is regulations and other factors that are preventing them from reaching the underbanked.

The House approved a bill 427-0 that would revamp the Federal Housing Administration’s condominium loan program and expedite the approval process for Rural Housing Service guaranteed loans.

Wells Fargo & Co., the largest U.S. home lender, agreed to pay $1.2 billion to resolve claims related to its Federal Housing Administration mortgage practices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chided the industry Wednesday that too few institutions offer checking accounts that discourage or prevent overdraft charges, and those that do have not advertised them.

WASHINGTON — The current financial regulatory structure is ill-suited for innovation, but a legislative effort to fix that may still be a long way off, according to top House Republican lawmakers.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is urging banks to perform due diligence and identify potential risks before conducting business with marketplace lenders.

The CFPB notched another victory in its effort to limit dealer discretion after Toyota Motor Credit Corp. agreed to cut in half how much partnering dealerships can mark up the interest rate on a loan as compensation.

Morgan Stanley will pay $63 million to settle a series of government lawsuits claiming the bank misrepresented securities it sold to banks that later failed.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unveiled an appeals process Tuesday that will allow an independent arbitrator to resolve disputes between lenders and the government-sponsored enterprises over loan repurchase demands.

In a presidential race dominated by populists and even an aging socialist, the establishment candidates that bankers prefer — Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio — had a good night in Iowa on Monday. But the race is far from over, and the Iowa results showed some ominous signs as well.

Lenders argue that the GSEs would be better off buying more loans that are already insured, rather than transferring credit risk after holding them for a time. But Freddie Mac's Kevin Palmer says certainty of reimbursement is more important than the timing of risk transfers.

A Federal Reserve task force has issued criteria for its faster payments initiative, part of a long journey to build a framework to securely and efficiently accommodate the near-real-time processing for digital commerce.

A Federal Reserve task force has issued criteria for its faster payments initiative, part of a long journey to build a framework to securely and efficiently accommodate the near real-time processing for digital commerce.

While most federal banking regulators use enforcement actions as a way to shape industry practices, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking that to a whole other level, frequently using orders as a substitute for new rules or guidelines.

The near future may find more banks ceasing to originate residential mortgages in an effort to stop the slide in stock prices.

The central bank should not delay putting in place a long-term plan that diminishes its outsized influence and allows the financial markets to work without interference.

WASHINGTON — Key Democratic lawmakers are urging the Department of Housing and Urban Development to tighten its program for selling nonperforming guaranteed loans to ensure servicers have exhausted all loss mitigation options before the loans are sold to private investors.

WASHINGTON – The House passed a bill Monday by voice vote that could make certain municipal debt securities more attractive to banks.

While most federal banking regulators use enforcement actions as a way to shape industry practices, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking that to a whole other level, frequently using orders as a substitute for new rules or guidelines.