Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday formally signed off on the creation of a national intelligence center to share information about cyber threats.

Republican lawmakers said Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen's meetings with executive-branch officials and liberal groups undercut the Fed's claim that a congressional audit would harm its independence.

A senior regulatory official on Wednesday continued the alarm bell over the brisk growth in auto lending, suggesting that some lending terms could be setting up banks for trouble.

New York could soon start holding bank executives personally responsible for their institutions' anti-money-laundering controls, the state's top financial regulator said Wednesday.

Banks would likely not see an immediate effect from the Federal Communications Commission's open Internet plan, but experts say it could prevent future discriminatory moves by carriers that want to compete more in offering financial services.

By prosecuting executives responsible for banks' misdeeds, the DOJ can curtail illegal activity and restore public trust in big banks — and in the law itself.

Congress should end Puerto Rico's exclusion from federal bankruptcy protection — but it's unfair to leave the territory's existing creditors in the lurch.

Capital One has received requests for information from federal regulators about its anti-money-laundering program and check casher clients, as authorities lean on banks to do a more thorough job policing their customers — and their customers' customers.

During an unusually aggressive bout of questioning for Yellen, particularly from a lawmaker generally regarded as supportive of the Fed chair, Warren questioned comments made by Fed General Counsel Scott Alvarez last year raising concerns with aspects of the financial reform law.

U.S. Century Bank inDoral, Fla., has received regulatory approval for its plan to raise $65 million in capital, according to a news report.

Community bank earnings surged 28% to $4.8 billion during the fourth quarter, compared to a 7.3% decline for the industry as a whole, according to a report released Tuesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

WASHINGTON — An increase in litigation costs at a few large banks and lower noninterest income led to a year-over-year decline in earnings, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the world's biggest banks manipulated prices of precious metals such as silver and gold, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The unfortunate reality is that those who most need credit counseling help are also the hardest to reach. In a Q&A, the agency's financial literacy honcho, Gail Hillebrand, talks about efforts to empower the vast swath of American who aren't terribly savvy.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., reintroduced legislation Monday that would require the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to be nominated by the White House and confirmed by the Senate.

Sheila Bair, the former chairman of the FDIC, has the answer for significantly reducing the regulatory burden on small banks: give regulators the power to exempt institutions with less than $10 billion of assets from any new or existing regulation.

There's nothing wrong with big banks gaining market share because they offer the products and services that customers want. But there's a problem when big banks can beat off their smaller rivals with a club fashioned by legislators and regulators.

Taiwan Cooperative Bank has been cleared by the Federal Reserve Board to open a branch in New York.

The fight over the Dodd-Frank threshold for enhanced regulations is the first big legislative battle for a loose coalition of regional banks.

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Friday announced the second stage of a mandated review of banking rules meant to identify opportunities for relief.