Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc., introduced a bill Thursday that would require regulators to be more transparent as they negotiate global insurance standards.

The SAFE Transitional License Act would allow registered lending officers to work at independent mortgage banks for 120 days while they complete state testing and licensing requirements.

One of the most powerful officials in the Federal Reserve System announced Thursday she plans to leave the central bank by the end of the year.

The financial industry and the White House are gearing up for a fresh battle this spring over investment advice for retirement savings.

Executives from two insurance companies, Prudential Financial and Country Financial, warned Thursday that the Financial Stability Oversight Council should be more transparent with the institutions it oversees, despite recent reforms.

A GOP-led measure would have forced the Defense Department to do more study before finalizing regulations on high-cost loans to service members. It was quashed when five Republicans voted with Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee.

The Los Angeles bank, which is in the process of being sold, vows to fight a Labor Department complaint that it overcharged employees for administering their retirement plan.

The compliance costs associated with the CFPB's proposed reforms to the payday lending would force many small businesses to close shop, reducing access to short-term credit for many Americans.

Community banks should consider agreeing to higher capital standards in return for a simpler capital compliance regime, Federal Reserve Board Gov. Daniel Tarullo suggested Thursday.

Financial industry groups are supporting the effort to stop the Pentagon from issuing new regulations on high-cost lending this year, while congressional Democrats and consumer groups are decrying it.

The Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Open Market Committee said Wednesday it would maintain its near-zero target interest rate as expected, citing sluggish growth estimates since the previous meeting in March that it ascribed to “transitory” economic factors.

A mortgage title company and a handful of individuals are being sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Maryland Attorney General related to an alleged mortgage kickback scheme with banks such as Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

A House subcommittee approved a bill Wednesday that would redirect money from an affordable housing fund that receives money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into another program run by HUD.

Individual rules put in place after the financial crisis have made some large banks safer, but the number and complexity of new regulations may well have made the overall system riskier, according to a provocative new paper by a top financial analytics firm.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is joining Pacific Investment Management Co. as a senior adviser, his second consulting agreement with a top money manager in as many weeks.

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby offered a few hints Wednesday about what bankers might be able to expect from pending regulatory relief legislation due next month.

Regulators can avoid extensive, after-the-fact investigations of banks' illegal actions by standardizing the form and content of transaction data so they can spot compliance problems in real time.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gave a strong warning to the banking industry on Tuesday when it fined Regions Financial $7.5 million for allegedly charging illegal overdraft fees.

At Citigroup and Wells Fargo, shareholder proposals to disclose more about lobbying garnered double-digit percentages of the vote. PNC basked in environmentalists' admiration — after agreeing to leave business on the table.

The Senate Banking Committee kicked off the first of several hearings on the insurance industry this week, as companies brace for heightened oversight under the Dodd-Frank Act and other efforts.