Law and regulation

A cybersecurity assessment tool designed to help bankers bolster their defenses against hackers and other cybercriminals is continuing to sow confusion among bankers, with some arguing it is effectively imposing tougher standards on the industry.

Housing policy focused on government guarantees and the 30-year mortgage hasn't done much to help low- and middle-income homeowners build wealth.

Despite their recent growth, too few marketplace lenders are reporting data to the consumer reporting agencies, which could negative repercussions on the financial 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.

Several bankers left a high-profile meeting with the Financial Accounting Standards Board feeling more comfortable with a plan to change reserve accounting. The meeting was thrown into an abrupt recess after a FASB director and a bank lobbyist clashed over recent statements by FASB's chairman linking community banks to the financial crisis.

WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee called on the Federal Reserve Thursday to complete its proposal to limit banks' involvement in commodities markets.

Frank Keating, former chief executive of the American Bankers Association, has joined the law firm Holland & Knight as a partner.

The House passed a bill Thursday 250-169 that would limit regulators' ability to force banks to cut ties with certain businesses despite Democratic fears that it could hamstring the Justice Department's ability to prosecute bankers responsible for the financial crisis.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is increasingly on the defensive when asked why so many banks and hedge funds on Wall Street have given her money, insisting it doesn't influence her tough reformist views. But it raises the question what institutions hope to gain with all their money.

The amount of complaints in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s database dealing with payday loans is relatively small, so why is the proposal to regulate payday lenders so sweeping?

Louise Roseman, the longtime head of the Federal Reserve's payment systems division, plans to retire this year.

Wells Fargo's tentative agreement to pay $1.2 billion to resolve claims by the Justice Department that it made shoddy FHA loans is bad news for other banks that are the targets of similar probes.

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.