Law and regulation

A bipartisan group of housing experts is seeking to inject more discussion about the mortgage market into presidential campaigns.

A long-expected change to the rules for provisioning against bad loans is coming soon, and opponents are going on the offensive, arguing that it is impractical and would be especially hard for small banks to comply with. But few concessions, if any, are predicted.

The six largest U.S. banks have jointly issued support for a "strong global climate agreement," ahead of a global summit on climate change in Paris in December.

The CFPB hired Dr. Bernard Siskin three years ago to serve as the agency's expert witness when it brings discrimination cases against lenders. But Siskin has also been hired by JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and other big banks to represent them in bias cases against the CFPB, causing issues for the agency.

The most recent outcry came from four housing groups that warned lawmakers last week that the proposal by the Federal Housing Finance Agency "would make harmful changes" to the FHLB membership rules.

WASHINGTON — Fifth Third Bank must pay a total of more than $21 million to settle separate claims by the federal government that the bank's indirect auto-loan business discriminated against African-Americans and that the bank deceptively signed up customers for a credit card add-on product.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, is not seeking a higher leadership position in the wake of House Speaker John Boehner’s resignation, a spokeswoman said Monday.

Rules dealing with liquidity and other market-related items may be a better strategy for asset managers than higher capital requirements, said Federal Reserve Board Gov. Daniel Tarullo.

Modified executive compensation plans can encourage bank chiefs to make prudent business decisions rather than chasing short-term profits.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including how postal banking could help low-income people in the U.S. and the continuing debate over interchange fees.

IMGCAP(1)]

The collaboration between financial institutions and technology firms runs deep, but banks' recent criticism of lax regulatory oversight for nonbanks reveals fissures.

House Speaker John Boehner's surprising announcement reduces the odds of an imminent government shutdown, but raises fresh questions about several key banking priorities.

The CFPB is rewriting the rules for debt collection, and in the meantime fines and penalties are coming fast and furiously. Banks need to closely scrutinize every debt collector and debt buyer they do business with, or even bring collections back in-house, said attorney Joann Needleman.

Lenders that allow borrowers to shop for third-party settlement services face new liability, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's integrated mortgage disclosure rules will let borrowers sue over problems with vendor lists.

Politicians who support the idea of banking as a public utility may not be very concerned with the fate of community banks. Rather than say so directly, they gloss over the facts.

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 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has struggled internally with how to end potential discrimination in auto lending, including debating whether it should cite a large lender in the hopes of effectively ending the ability of partnering dealers to mark up loans with all lenders.

Bank of New York Mellon will pay $335 million to clients claiming the bank defrauded them in foreign- exchange transactions for as long as a decade, after a judge granted final approval to a settlement reached in March.

Officials signaled that Hudson City Savings Bank's nearly $33 million settlement over redlining charges is only the first in what is likely to be a string of other cases.