Law and regulation

The former president of a Texas community bank was sentenced to two years in federal prison for manipulating the bank's books and embezzling money to pay her daughter's sorority dues.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is reducing the mortgage insurance premiums it charges on Federal Housing Administration multifamily loans to encourage the renovation of affordable housing units and promote energy-efficient upgrades.

Amid concerns about the added complexity of the TILA-Respa integrated disclosures and growing demand for purchase loans, Flagstar Bancorp plans to reduce its over-reliance on third-party originations by expanding its retail mortgage business.

The combination of falling stock prices, higher-risk strategies and signs of worsening credit quality does not bode well for the industry's road ahead.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s polling numbers are running in the mid single digits in Iowa, making the prospects for his campaign bleak, yet he retains much of his support among bankers in the state.

WASHINGTON – Risks to financial stability have risen in the past year across several key areas, the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research said in a report to Congress issued Wednesday.

Banking's top trade groups sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to intervene and stop a plan by the National Credit Union Administration to expand field of membership for federal credit unions.

Banks that prioritize structural changes in their compliance process will make risk frameworks more effective and sustainable over time.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group took a surprise 3.6 billion-pound ($5.2 billion) hit to the value of its assets and set aside more money for past misconduct, limiting Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan's ability to return capital to shareholders.

JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $995 million to resolve claims by Ambac Financial Group that it was duped into insuring mortgage bonds backed by shoddy loans, paving the way for approval of a much larger settlement between the bank and institutional investors stemming from the global financial crisis.

In the absence of congressional action on housing finance reform, here is what the Federal Housing Finance Agency should do sooner rather than later.

American International Group’s announcement Tuesday that it plans to split off its mortgage insurance business takes the prospect of a broader breakup off the table in the short term, but some observers think the firm may still break itself up eventually.

U.S. banks are no longer barred from providing financing when American companies export certain products to Cuba, according to revised regulations from the Obama administration.

American International Group announced $3.6 billion in new costs to fill a reserve shortfall and said it will hold an initial public offering for its mortgage insurer and sell an adviser network as Chief Executive Peter Hancock seeks to boost returns and protect his job after criticism from activist investor Carl Icahn.

A JPMorgan Chase unit has reached an agreement to pay $1.42 billion to resolve claims it took advantage of its status as Lehman Brothers Holdings' primary lender to unfairly extract cash and position itself ahead of other creditors in Lehman's bankruptcy.

Bank of America and nine other banks have agreed to pay about $63 million to settle claims they misled the state of Virginia into buying faulty residential mortgage-backed securities.

Sun Bancorp in Mount Laurel, N.J., has agreed to pay $25,000 to resolve issues connected to the company’s former Sun Home Loans division.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is receiving more pushback than fellow financial regulators from companies it hits with enforcement orders, likely as a result of the stronger wording the agency uses to publicize the actions.

Ben Carson, a former neurosurgeon, soared to near the top of the pack of Republican presidential candidates in polling, only to find his star falling rapidly after several questionable comments that sowed doubts about his foreign policy expertise. With the GOP nomination fight still in flux, it's unclear if Carson can recover.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has had a rough campaign. He started out in the summer of 2015 as the heavy favorite, swelled with contribution cash from financial institutions and many others, but he's quickly been overtaken by anti-establishment candidates.