Law and regulation

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.

Carly Fiorina, former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, was broadly critical of the Dodd-Frank Act and regulation in general, two positions that heartened bankers. But she failed to gain traction in the Iowa or New Hampshire primaries, and subsequently dropped out of the race. Here's where she stood on key issues.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has garnered a reputation as a straight-talking, moderate Republican. Though he performed well in the primary debates, he finished poorly in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. As a result, Christie has dropped out of the race. Here's where he stood on key issues.

Former New York senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is well known to most players in the political world. Though she has billed herself as a progressive Democrat, many banks and other businesses see her as an acceptable alternative to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, who many on Wall Street view as unpredictable. Following are her views on a range of subjects.

John Kasich, the governor of Ohio and former chairman of the House Budget Committee, is the only presidential candidate with banking experience. He served as a managing director at the now-defunct Lehman Brothers from 2001 until its collapse in 2008. Perhaps as a result, his positions on financial issues are more nuanced than many of his competitors'.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is a business-friendly Republican who some view as the most viable potential threat in a general election against the Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, elected in 2012, has quickly made himself a household name as a staunch Tea Party conservative. He’s currently No. 2 in several national and state primary polls behind Donald Trump.

Though he is the official GOP nominee, the New York real estate mogul Donald Trump has eschewed providing details on many issues, instead broad outlines of a plan. However, the outspoken reality TV star has provided some clues on his banking policies.

Regulators and alarmists are targeting a key source of financing on which some of the best-known American companies rely.

The way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is regulating the auto finance industry's relationships with dealers is simply wrong — both legally and ethically — according to Blair Evans of Baker Donelson. It's also directly counterproductive to its goal of protecting consumers, she says.

The American Bankers Association has gone public with its issues with a plan to require banks to record loan-loss provisions when they originate a loan. Bankers are worried that the rule will eventually force smaller institutions to use costly modeling programs to comply.