Law and regulation

Mark Simmons, a seasoned commercial lender, is planning to open a bank in California’s Orange County that is dedicated to making loans to businesses. Core Commercial Bank, expected to be the state’s first de novo since 2008, would jump into a market where commercial lenders are plentiful — and aggressive.

A new Fannie Mae program allowing nonborrower income to count in qualifying homeowners for low-down payment loans received near-universal praise from industry representatives and federal officials at a recent housing symposium here.

A report released by Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee accuses the CFPB of willfully overstepping the law to punish indirect auto lenders for alleged discriminatory practices that, the report says, are fair business.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s third-quarter industry update pointed to signs of banks expanding their risk profiles despite slow revenue growth.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that it will begin to implement significant changes to its supervisory program — particularly for large financial institutions — following the recommendations of yearlong internal investigation into how the central bank examines banks.

First Financial Northwest in Renton, Wash., has filed for permission to adopt a commercial bank charter.

The Federal Reserve issued a proposed rule Tuesday that would require large banks to publish quarterly reports describing how they are meeting their liquidity requirements, including what kinds of highly liquid assets they are holding.

The head of the Independent Community Bankers of America fires a legal warning at NCUA and says relations between the two industries has never been more strained.

U.S. bank earnings increased 5% in the third quarter from a year earlier to $40.4 billion as a “few large banks” recorded lower litigation expenses, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

The rapid growth of competition from nonbanks has the potential to hit community banks harder than the mortgage meltdown.

A federal judge who dismissed a case against two high-cost lenders suggested the outcome was unfortunate, but said her hands were tied by the law.

WASHINGTON — The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists said Tuesday that former Financial Action Task Force executive secretary Rick McDonell will be taking over as the trade association's executive director.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will have a new head of legislative affairs after longtime FDIC official Eric Spitler retires at the end of the year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday warned that it would go after companies that automatically withdraw funds from bank accounts without a consumer's consent.

While groups are concerned that Goldman Sachs' deal for GE Capital's deposits lacks community reinvestment benefits, they have also raised procedural questions about the Federal Reserve Board's handling of the application.

The Federal Reserve Board will likely subject large banks to higher minimum capital levels as part of their annual stress tests than the capital requirements that have resulted from past tests, Fed Gov. Daniel Tarullo said Monday.

The government's new proposal for operationalizing the wind-down powers of Dodd-Frank is just institutionalizing "too big to fail."

Class-action lawsuits filed against some of the biggest names in retail banking and payments could prompt financial firms to reconsider their relationships with customers that play fantasy sports.

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Higher mortgage rates and other macroeconomic challenges may dampen lending under the Federal Housing Administration's single-family program, but they will produce a net benefit to the insurance fund. Here's why.