Law and regulation

New York's banking regulator has reached an agreement with four of the banks developing an online message service to store records for potential access by regulators and other officials.

Even if the Federal Reserve decides to begin raising rates this September, banks are unlikely to get the boost they've been hoping for. That's because pent-up customer demand for attractive yields may force banks to raise deposit rates more quickly than they have projected.

The North Carolina-based BB&T is far larger than any other bank regulated by the FDIC. It should be under the supervision of an agency with more experience overseeing large banks.

Federal regulators have cited F.N.B. Corp. in Pittsburgh for violating rules to protect consumers from unwanted, automated text messages.

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the agency must issue a proposal that would require large banks to bear the brunt of raising the DIF reserve ratio higher once it reaches a statutorily imposed minimum. With the fund rapidly increasing, the agency is likely to put out a plan by the end of 2015 — sparking a debate over what the FDIC might do.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including banks' subpar shareholder value and how big-data advocates can better communicate with critics who worry about the technology's potential discriminatory effects.

Evans Bancorp in Hamburg, N.Y., has agreed to pay $825,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of mortgage redlining.

Gregory Baer, the head of regulatory policy for JPMorgan Chase, will be the next president of The Clearing House Association, the group announced Friday.

The FDIC has proposed a plan that would increase premiums for banks that use reciprocal deposits—a tool that community development financial institutions rely upon to meet credit demand in low-income communities.

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 from our social media platforms.

Two community banks — Community Bankers Trust in Richmond, Va., and Charter Financial in West Point, Ga. — have reached early terminations of loss-share agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The Justice Department's announcement that it would target individual executives at banks and other companies that are being investigated for wrongdoing has sparked a debate about whether the move is actually substantive or instead just designed to boost the agency's public image.

Arthur Levitt, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1993 to 2001, will become an adviser to the marketplace lender Social Finance.

The consumer agency, which recently reached a large settlement with JPMorgan Chase over collections practices, turned its focus Wednesday to the country's two largest debt buyers.

Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said banks could consider loan-to-value ratios above 90% to help revitalize areas hurt by the housing crisis.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau imposed up to $79 million in penalties and refunds Wednesday in enforcement actions against the country's two largest debt buyers.

The key to housing finance reform is a new securitization model that allows the private sector to price and absorb the majority of housing credit risk.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a busy agenda for the fall that includes possible action on debt collection and prepaid cards, though the agency's overall workload may cause delays.

Nearly 20 trade groups representing lenders, banks, credit unions, title companies and others are urging federal regulators to provide guidance on how they plan to enforce a new mortgage disclosure regime that goes into effect Oct. 3.

The American Bankers Association has planned a financial literacy campaign to help seniors and their caregivers guard against financial fraud.