Law and regulation

Steven Antonakes, who just stepped down last month as the deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is joining the $9.6 billion-asset Eastern Bank in Boston to serve as a senior vice president and chief compliance officer.

Community banks are being crushed by burdensome rules and regulations. Policymakers should recognize their plight and scale back Dodd-Frank.

M&T Bank's disclosure that it is in settlement talks with the Justice Department for not complying with underwriting guidelines on FHA loans has renewed fears that more lenders will be targeted.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including a critical look at the Fed's post-crisis monetary policies and a bid to make the funding community groups receive from banks more transparent.

The number of banks has fallen just 18% nationwide in the five years since Dodd-Frank became law, far less than the 40% figure cited by Rubio in Thursday night's debate.

Democrats are demanding action for pending nominees before the Senate Banking Committee — here's what happens next and why it matters.

Heritage Financial in Olympia, Wash., has agreed to an early termination of its Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. loss-share agreements for its purchase of two failed banks in 2010.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called for dismantling the Dodd-Frank Act Thursday night during the first Republican primary debate.

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.

Debit cardholders initiate an average of nearly 30 debit transactions a month for the top issuers, but the rate of activity can vary wildly — with those top issuers seeing about twice as many transactions as those without strong debit business.

Lending Club and Funding Circle are among the firms pledging to adhere to a range of self-imposed standards in small-business lending.

The New York Bankers Association is challenging the legality of a local law that is designed to cajole banks into making larger investments in poorer communities. The outcome could be an important precedent in relation to similar laws in other cities.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has named Stephen Warren chief information officer.

SunTrust Banks participated in a drug sting in South Florida in which law enforcement officers and a former bank branch manager may have behaved improperly, according to a story in the Miami Herald.

Banks are strongly condemning the Department of Education's proposed changes to its student loan disbursement rules, saying that the proposal is an attempt to regulate banks in a way that exceeds the department's statutory authority and hurts students.

M&T Bank said it's in discussions with U.S. officials to settle an investigation into the lender's origination and sale of federally insured home loans.

Former Wilmington Trust President Robert V.A. Harra was indicted on U.S. charges that he lied to regulators as part of a scheme to hide bad real-estate loans

The Federal Reserve should require community groups to disclose the contributions they receive from banks in order to ensure that controversial mergers receive fair public hearings.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ramped up its push for the mortgage industry to switch to an electronic closing process after results from a pilot program showed consumers favored it over in-person mortgage closing.

Capital One Financial in McLean, Va., has been hit with an enforcement action by federal regulators for deficiencies in anti-money laundering compliance that were connected to a former check-cashing business.