Law and regulation

The Treasury Department gave financial institutions a rare pat on the back in a recent analysis of anti-money-laundering safeguards, saying the system has significantly improved.

Incorporating bill and rental payment data into consumer credit scores would be a boon for underserved Americans. New legislation in Congress could help credit reporting agencies realize this goal.

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.

FHA tries to clarify what loan defects will bring the harshest penalties to guide lenders and instill more confidence.

The Federal Reserve Board Thursday finalized changes to rules governing the calculation of interest payments on excess cash reserves held at regional Fed banks, a technical change aimed at easing the inevitable rise in federal interest rates in the future.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has fined a medical debt collector and ordered the company to provide financial relief to consumers for mishandling credit-reporting disputes.

The insurance provider said that it is not eligible for designation as a Systemically Important Financial Institution because it is not primarily a financial company, and even if it were, FSOC wrongly used the firm's size alone to subject it to heightened regulation.

A technical error made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has become a saving grace for lenders who had pushed, begged and pleaded for more time to comply with a new mortgage disclosure rule.

It turns out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's failure to file a two-page form to Congress on time was the unspecified "administrative error" that delayed the effective date for new mortgage disclosure rules.

The Federal Communications Commission rejected requests by banks and other companies that would have curbed lawsuits over unwanted phone calls to consumers.

The U.S. plans to feature a woman on its currency notes for the first time since Martha Washington adorned silver certificates more than a century ago, the Treasury Department said.

WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Committee approved legislation Wednesday to subject the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the federal appropriations process and block the agency from issuing a rule on mandatory arbitration clauses.

The chair of the Federal Reserve said that though it takes the Community Reinvestment Act "very seriously," it is looking at possible changes to the rules implementing the 1977 anti-redlining law to address concerns that it is too lax.

WASHINGTON — After months of declining industry and congressional pleas to delay an impending rule combining two mortgage disclosure regimes, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday announced a two-month delay due to an "administrative error."

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew downplayed concerns by House Republicans Thursday that financial regulation is a key driver in spurring recent market volatility and a possible reduction in liquidity.

Six servicers were cited for a range of infractions, including a failure to respond to requests for loan modifications and not doing enough to prevent foreclosures. Punishment was harsh for Wells Fargo and HSBC, which are banned from acquiring mortgage servicing rights and entering into new servicing contracts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued an Ohio auto lender for alleged bullying tactics in trying to collect debts from military personnel.

Glenn Moyer, the former banking commissioner of Pennsylvania, has joined a banking risk-management consulting firm.

Signature Bank in New York has added former Rep. Barney Frank to its board. The $29 billion-asset company said that Frank filled a seat previously held by Alfred DelBello, a former lieutenant governor of New York who died last month. This is Frank's first appointment to a bank board.

BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., and Webster Financial in Waterbury, Conn., each reported that its Tier 1 common equity ratio would remain above regulators' minimum guideline, as regional banks continue to disclose Dodd-Frank Act stress-test results.