Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has its sights set on prepaid and debit cards offered to college students as such products are filling the gaps left by credit card issuers which have largely left the space, according to a study released by the agency Monday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has its sights set on prepaid and debit cards offered to college students as such products are filling the gaps left by credit card issuers which have largely left the space, according to a study released by the agency Dec. 15.

It was a year ago that regulators finalized the rule banning proprietary trading. But complying with the rule is still very much a work in progress.

A controversial plan to reform the bankruptcy code would shift the balance of power between debtors and creditors, resulting in extensive — but difficult to forecast — changes to the banking industry.

Cliff Rosenthal left his credit union colleagues behind to become assistant director of the CFPB in 2012. He found an energetic, dedicated agency under attack from political opponents and hampered by institutional hubris.

The Senate finally passed a $1.1 trillion spending package late Saturday night, putting an end to several days of intense debate over the repeal of a key Dodd-Frank Act provision and other measures included in the bill.

The blatant mischaracterization of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. communications in a House Oversight Committee report undercuts the aim of the investigation into regulatory scrutiny of bank-payday lending relationships.

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s board of directors will meet Tuesday to consider approving the agency's 2015 operating budget as well as to discuss a proposal related to derivatives netting.

It proved to be another chaotic day on Capitol Hill Friday as lawmakers continued to battle over a controversial swaps provision in a massive spending bill, while an extension of a key risk insurance program appeared suddenly in doubt.

HUD officials had taken a neutral position on whether FHA financing would be available for loans that were seized by cities and written down to their current appraised value.

WASHINGTON — Congress passed legislation late Thursday that will expand community bank access to the debt markets in order to finance acquisitions.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, a top critic of the country's megabanks, will lead Democrats on the Banking Committee next year.

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

The financial system will be safer if accounting standards force banks to incorporate risk into the way they value and report cash and cash equivalents.

On its face, the House vote late Thursday to approve a spending bill that included an unrelated provision written by Citigroup was a big legislative victory for the bank and its fellow Wall Street behemoths. Yet it’s also a victory that comes at a high price.

The House narrowly passed a massive $1.1 trillion spending plan Thursday night, moving the bill to the Senate, where the fight over a Dodd-Frank Act derivatives measure is likely to continue.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt's decision Thursday to stand up the affordable housing trust funds sharply divided lawmakers along party lines, with Democrats welcoming the decision as overdue while Republicans denounced it as a mistake.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action Thursday against two companies for allegedly running "scams" that promised relief for struggling student loan borrowers.

International bank regulators finalized changes Thursday that will greatly diminish the role of external ratings agencies in weighting the risk of securitized assets in capital requirements.