Law and regulation

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Visa and MasterCard halted services in Crimea after a new round of U.S. sanctions, according to multiple reports.

2014 was a big year for payments. Disruption came from within the financial services industry and from outsiders like Apple and Walmart. Mainstream payment companies had to respond to these new competitors as well as adapt to fresh attention from regulators and fraudsters.

With Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reserves erasing crisis-era losses, the agency is staring down a critical decision on how to implement a congressionally required increase in the insurance fund.

It is unclear if the wave of state actions signals a burgeoning state scrutiny of consumer finance companies or if state enforcers will only employ this new approach on occasion.

Federal regulators formally issued a final risk retention rule for mortgage securitizations, a long-awaited and hotly debated measure that is nevertheless expected to have little market impact when it takes effect a year from now.

It isn't just payday lenders and money-services firms that are being ditched by banks lately. Community banks are getting cut off too.

Medical debt may prove to be one of the complex areas that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will tackle in its highly anticipated rulemaking on debt collection next year.

In a meeting with Fed chair Janet Yellen, one community banker emphasized the need for a tiered approach to regulation and enforcement.

A Defense Department proposal to strengthen financial protections for military personnel is still too weak, according to attorneys general from 20 states.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Monday it has approved the merger of the Federal Home Loan banks of Des Moines and Seattle, giving approval to the first voluntary combination in the history of the system.

WASHINGTON — International banking regulators proposed sweeping revisions to the standards for assessing and capitalizing credit risk, calling for less reliance on external credit ratings and greater sensitivity and comparability of risks between banks.

Investor confidence in Ocwen Financial was clearly shaken Monday after New York state regulators forced the firm's founder out as part of a $150 million settlement.

The repeal of a key Dodd-Frank Act swaps provision earlier this month was a blow to progressive advocates and lawmakers, but former Rep. Barney Frank says there’s still reason to be optimistic about the future of financial regulation.

Charlie Shrem, the former Bitcoin Foundation Inc. executive who pleaded guilty to charges tied to the illicit online bazaar "Silk Road," was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge who rejected his bid to remain free and "change the world."

Regulators on Friday closed Northern Star Bank in Mankato, Minn., the 18th institution to fail this year.

Federal bank regulators increased the asset-size thresholds for the definition of a "small bank" and "intermediate small bank" for certain bank exams on Friday.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

The $4 trillion in mortgages serviced by the largest financial institutions slightly improved in the third quarter with more loans back in performing status and fewer in serious delinquency, a regulatory report said Friday.

The Federal Housing Administration is facing severe challenges next year as some pressure it to lower premiums to deal with new competition from the government-sponsored enterprises, even while its insurance fund remains weak and it faces added scrutiny from GOP lawmakers.