Law and regulation

Credit Agricole agreed to pay $787 million to U.S. regulators and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department to resolve allegations the French bank violated sanctions aimed at Iran and Sudan.

Bank of New York Mellon won final approval of a $180 million settlement with investors who claimed they lost money amid allegations the bank had defrauded clients in foreign-exchange transactions for as long as a decade.

Housing finance reform in Congress is stalled, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (often under pressure from their regulator) are forming partnerships, developing new products and finding ways to share risk with the private sector to correct flaws in the housing system.

A federal appeals court has dealt the retail sector a setback in the ongoing fight over surcharges on credit card purchases.

Presidential candidates shouldn’t rely on crowd-pleasing gimmicks or trick plays to reform the banking system, but the execution of the basics. This means focusing on the time-tested risk-return tradeoff and restructuring our existing deposit insurance system to be truly risk based.

David H. Stevens, the Mortgage Bankers Association's president, pledged to "shine an aggressive spotlight on abusive enforcement" at the trade group's annual gathering, specifically calling out the Department of Justice.

The government's spotlight on servicing problems means companies should be taking steps now in the face of regulators' current enforcement authority and the potential of coming rules.

Mortgage servicers have gotten a rare reprieve from the Federal Housing Administration.

One deeply indebted student borrower may become an unlikely hero to the 41 million Americans with education debt.

The White House is pushing back on suggestions that it will cut a deal to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the end of President Obama’s term, putting the pressure back on Congress for a solution.

Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry praised the House for passing a bill to raise the asset threshold to qualify for an 18-month exam cycle to institutions with less than $1 billion of assets, and urged the Senate to follow suit.

Quicken Loans is partnering with Freddie Mac to boost business among first-time and middle-income borrowers as it battles allegations over its past underwriting practices on Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages.

Even if Operation Choke Point officially ended, U.S. regulators have continued to apply the policy of threatening investigations and ruinous fines against banks that service "high-risk" customers in disfavored industries.

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.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced that its board will meet Thursday to discuss a plan to increase the required ratio of federal reserves to insured deposits.

General Electric plans to ask early next year for relief from heightened regulatory scrutiny, while its former credit card arm says that it won't be subject to the same stress-testing rules as most banks its size.

Bankers are increasingly concerned that an optional cybersecurity assessment tool released by regulators this summer could soon become mandatory.

The argument that a Republican CFPB director could wreak havoc on what the agency has already accomplished just doesn't hold water.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has promoted Shonda Clay to executive vice president and product manager, a role in which she will also support the Fed's faster payments initiative.

The changes made 10 years ago reduced abusive bankruptcies and made our nation's economy more resilient. If Congress had gone further by regulating attorney fees and increasing penalties for fraud, the economy would be that much stronger.