Law and regulation

New York’s attorney general called on more than 90 banks including units of Toronto-Dominion Bank and HSBC Holdings to revamp customer screening procedures to give poor people better access to financial services.

The financial condition of the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance fund has improved “significantly” over the past year, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro predicted late Monday.

The acting head of New York’s Department of Financial Services will step down before the end of the year, giving New York Governor Andrew Cuomo a run at reshaping a regulator that has levied billions of dollars of penalties against international banks and at times raised hackles in foreign capitals.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recently held meetings with state regulators in which agency officials emphasized that they are open to new applicants, responding to criticism that the standards for granting deposit insurance have been too high.

Recent industry’s analysis of the credit market is too good to be believed or sustained, which should raise red flags for everyone.

Legislation would require GAO to study the impact the FHFA membership rule would have on the FHLB System and its members.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray issued a public rebuke of RushCard on Friday, warning that it must rapidly fix technical glitches that have left customers locked out of their accounts.

Community organizations and the banking industry are advancing dueling visions for how to reach the unbanked, with community groups asking regulators to strengthen existing rules while community banks want to lighten their regulatory burden so they can extend their services.

Lawmakers and industry groups are urging FHA to update condo rules to provide more homeownership opportunities for first-time buyers.

The Federal Reserve Board will hold a public meeting Oct. 30 to discuss a proposal that would require the largest and most systemically risky banks to hold capital and unsecured debt to protect taxpayers from issuing bailouts if they should become distressed.

FCC, TCPA, stories

A faster than expected recovery following the financial crisis may mean that small banks see a significant reduction in premiums as early as the first quarter of next year, while larger institutions later face a surcharge required by the Dodd-Frank Act.

A major cybersecurity bill passed a key Senate test on Thursday after a series of setbacks earlier this year.

Two senior Democrats are urging congressional leaders to block financial policy riders from a yearend budget deal, including Sen. Richard Shelby's sweeping regulatory reform package.

Mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial failed four servicing tests in the second half of 2014. Joseph A. Smith Jr., the monitor of the $25 billion national mortgage settlement, said the Atlanta servicer was “beginning to show progress” in complying with terms of the 2012 agreement.

Industry representatives are howling about the lack of consumer benefit from the Durbin amendment, but we still know very little about the impact of the debit fee cap.

Furthering efforts to bring virtual currency mainstream, cryptocurrency companies and trade groups are teaming up to create a forum to aid law enforcement in weeding out criminal activity.

Federal banking regulators gave ground in a final rule to raise collateral requirements for uncleared swaps, providing special consideration for swaps traded between affiliates of the same firm.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is set to vote Thursday morning on a proposal that would force big banks to bear the assessment burden of growing the agency's federal reserves to a new minimum.

The industry will undoubtedly get bad press in an election cycle, but here is what institutions should do and not do about it.