Law and regulation

The state-owned Bank of North Dakota has approved a plan to provide $300 million in loans to farmers hit by low commodity prices or crop production.

Ally Financial in Detroit plans to redeem about $1.3 billion of preferred stock, opening the door to a possible stock buyback next year.

FHA loosens condo owner-occupancy rules and pledges to make further changes to facilitate condo financing.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in Newton has been hit with an enforcement action related to its compliance with anti-money-laundering laws.

The advisory committee established to address defects in the equity markets was stacked with industry insiders and, more troubling, includes firms implicated in serious wrongdoing.

Industry advocates say Consumer Financial Protection Bureau curbs on arbitration will eliminate a favored legal option, but where's the evidence that banks really prefer arbitration?

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.

The top Democrat on the House Small Business Committee is looking into what regulators are doing to protect small-business borrowers who use online lenders.

PwC's Dennis Nally on how men can empower women in financial services; Fidelity's Kathy Murphy on drawing female customers to financial planning; Well Fargo's Maureen O'Donnell on welcoming female advisers aboard; and are the regulatory agencies welcoming to women?

The American Bankers Association named Georgia community banker Daniel Blanton its new chairman and elected three additional officers during its annual convention.

While cybersecurity has already been part of bank exams for years, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is highlighting it as a separate comment in order to ensure the issue is getting appropriate attention from bank executives and boards.

The forthcoming "overnight bank funding rate" should give banks and researchers a more accurate picture of funding costs, but it is not clear whether the rate is part of the Fed's effort to reform Libor.

The Treasury Department has recently solicited input on how to improve marketplace lending. Here are four ways to help improve access to credit.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has postponed the release of a rule to overhaul how banks calculate loan losses.

East West Bancorp has been placed under an enforcement action for anti-money-laundering compliance weaknesses, as it continues a plan to spend an estimated total of $12 million on program upgrades.

WASHINGTON — Four Federal Home Loan Banks have recruited 74 members to participate in their new Mortgage Partnership Finance jumbo loan program.

There were at least two bad omens for large banks in the Republican debate held late Tuesday — even the most business-friendly candidates felt free to sharply criticize them and many seemed ill-informed about the current system.

MasterCard is extending its Zero Liability protection to cardholders and small businesses in all of its markets in an effort to recalibrate the program to match the realities of digital commerce.

A lot is riding on the effectiveness of internal models to determine capital levels, but regulators still allow banks' methodology to be too opaque.

Our nation has a long way to go to protect those defending our homeland. Stopping the damage of high-cost credit is an important first step.