Law and regulation

Quantitative easing hasn't led to severe price inflation as critics feared — but the large quantity of Treasury debt might.

Plaintiffs advocating for spousal rights in existing Home Equity Conversion Mortgages are renewing their motion for class certification, citing circumstances surrounding two instances of foreclosures under interim government policy.

BNC Bancorp in High Point, N.C., has agreed to buy Valley Financial in Roanoke, Va.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jerome Powell said Friday that he does not anticipate the central bank's interest rate policy changing because of real or perceived volatility in the market.

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley will testify before a Senate panel next week on questions about whether the bank is too cozy with the industry.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have agreed to launch preliminary investigations into Operation Choke Point.

A report due next week on the Federal Housing Administration's financial health is expected to show that the agency's reserve fund has significantly improved over the past year.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's rise to a spot on the Democratic leadership team has supporters cheering, but it remains to be seen how the role will affect her work on banking issues.

Senator Elizabeth Warren opposes President Barack Obama's nomination of Antonio Weiss to a top Treasury Department post because of the Lazard Ltd. executive's work on corporate tax inversions, a person familiar with the lawmaker's position said.

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

Consumer groups said that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was too soft in its prepaid card plan, arguing that it should have required more on upfront disclosures, banned overdraft charges, and completely severed prepaid cards from being tied to other types of credit.

Consumer groups said Thursday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was too soft in its prepaid card plan, arguing that it should have required more on upfront disclosures, banned overdraft charges, and completely severed prepaid cards from being tied to other types of credit.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said President Richard Fisher will step down on March 19, making him the second district chief and voting policymaker this year to announce his retirement from the central bank.

Bank industry representatives initially panned the concept of the Postal Service offering retail banking products. But as the government official behind the idea has made clear that he is interested in collaboration with the private sector, attitudes have begun to change.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau slapped Franklin Loan Corporation with a $730,000 fine on Thursday for allegedly incentivizing loan officers to guide customers into mortgages with higher interest rates.

For payment technology developers, the stakes couldn't be higher as the FCC develops new rules that could support or eliminate net neutrality, a system in which Web access is equal for most users, regardless of size.

Trade groups press federal banking regulators to make the Basel III capital rule less onerous.

Senate Democrats have tapped Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to join the leadership ranks next year to serve as a bridge to liberal groups.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council said this week that transparency with nonbanks and the public is a primary focus of its efforts to resolve concerns about the council's process for designating institutions as systemically significant.

Republicans are unlikely to push the ball forward on reform of the federal housing agencies, but Congress has a number of other opportunities to make changes that will encourage mortgage lending.