Law and regulation

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced the first Senate bill protecting banks involved with legal marijuana businesses.

Federal prosecutors are cracking down on violations of the Bank Secrecy Act — often without first clarifying to virtual currency firms and other industries the sort of behavior will get them in trouble.

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 Republican presidential contender is reviewing legislation opposed by banks that would allow payday loan stores to expand into a variety of new products and services.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has suggested that financial institutions get busy on implementing consumer protections for real-time and faster payments.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lael Brainard jumped into the debate over growing concerns about diminishing market liquidity, conceding that new bank rules may be a factor.

Deposit premiums could rise at 20% of banks with up to $10 billion in assets. Many of those banks could rethink asset concentrations that would trigger higher assessments.

While the Federal Reserve and other regulators extended the deadline for some parts of the Volcker rule, July 21 is the deadline for all banks to have a compliance regime in place.

The federal government has taken the unusual step of suing a dead bank president's estate for repayment of bailout funds the bank received during the financial crisis.

In nearly two decades of payday lending, Charlie Hallinan stayed one step ahead of state laws while amassing a fortune — one high-interest loan at a time.

The Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., convened a hearing where he and others criticized the Financial Stability Board for its lack of accountability and influence on U.S. regulators.

Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley is calling for breaking up the biggest U.S. banks, revamping the Federal Reserve and pursuing criminal cases against financial institutions that have broken the law.

Requiring brokers to come clean with customers about conflicts of interest sounds like an easy way to address biases. But disclosures are only effective if recipients understand how the conflict has influenced the advisor and have a way to correct that influence.

Federal and state regulators said the $216 million settlement against JPMorgan Chase is a warning that they are not finished targeting firms that mishandle collections or improperly resell bad debts.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has reintroduced a bill reviving provisions of the Depression-era law that separated commercial banking from riskier financial activity.

As Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew defended the legacy of the 2010 reform law, in another part of the capital a banker and Republican lawmakers pleaded for legislative changes.

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay more than $200 million to settle claims by federal and state authorities that the megabank wrongfully collected credit card payments on hundreds of thousands of consumers.

Trade finance has been quietly making a significant contribution to global growth. But regulations like Basel III could reduce its availability.

The Fed determined that the purchase of Susquehanna Bancshares, which would push BB&T's assets above $200 billion, will not pose a threat to the U.S. financial system. The approval could give more regional banks confidence to pursue bigger acquisitions.

Student loan servicers continue to use "shoddy" practices in handling loans for military service members, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday.