Law and regulation

Banks are seeing stronger consumer demand for credit for a range of products, including residential mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey of senior loan officers released Monday.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jerome Powell and the top adviser to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said that, based on the recent autopsy of the October 15, 2014 spike in Treasury yields, there is reason to believe that high-frequency or algorithmic trading may elevate the risk of similar events in the future

The past two weeks have dashed hopes by bankers that the New York Department of Financial Services might take a different approach after the departure of Benjamin Lawsky as its superintendent. In taking actions against Promontory Financial Group and launching a probe into a bank-run instant messaging service, the agency appears poised to carry on Lawsky's legacy.

A high percentage of loans to oil and gas firms are large and syndicated. As a result, more shared loans are becoming problematic for participating lenders.

The CFPB's long-term reputation — and perhaps Dodd-Frank's overall success — may well be judged on whether the bureau moves beyond areas where it was specifically instructed to take action and exercises broader authority granted to it by Congress.

Promontory Financial vowed to take the New York Department of Financial Services to court after it effectively banned the consulting firm from working on regulatory issues for banks the department supervises.

Citigroup is being investigated over its student-loan servicing practices in a probe that the bank said echoes an enforcement action against at least one other institution.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including whether independent consultants should be criminally liable for misrepresentations in their reports and whether higher rates will help or hurt banks.

An NCUA proposal to make credit unions more competitive commercial lenders is drawing fire from community bankers, who say it invites risky underwriting, unfair competition and a repeat of the thrift crisis.

Firing or cutting the pay of fraudulent or reckless bankers will go a lot further toward restoring the reputation of financial services than any new regulations, according to a reform-minded group of bankers and regulators.

While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has not deviated from a 2013 paper outlining a method for unwinding a giant firm, the agency has appeared to fine-tune its approach in significant ways.

Lawmakers included a measure that will impose new mortgage reporting requirements on banks and servicers as part of a short-term highway funding bill passed this week by both chambers of Congress.

Fourth Corner Credit Union, chartered last year to serve Colorado's legal marijuana industry, has filed lawsuits against the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Reserve after having its applications rejected for share deposit insurance and access to the Fed system, respectively.

It's not enough for banks to avoid deceptive practices. As the CFPB's latest enforcement action against JPMorgan Chase makes clear, banks are obligated to ensure their systems protect consumers from easily preventable mistakes.

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.

The Financial Stability Board said that it is tabling its work to develop methodologies for identifying systemically risky asset management firms until after other work to develop an activities-based regulatory approach has completed.

The Senate approved a controversial bill to fund the country's highway spending Thursday, setting up a protracted fight for the banking industry that will continue over the August recess.

Home Affordable Modification Program denial rates are still high, but the Treasury Department and top mortgage servicers contend that the numbers have improved.

The Federal Housing Administration is expected to rebuff a government watchdog report that blasted down payment assistance programs. The report has raised concerns that mortgage lenders would have to indemnify FHA for past loans, and that housing finance agencies would have the programs restructured.

A recent FCC ruling lumps legitimate businesses in with the telemarketing abusers and will hold banks to unrealistic standards.