Law and regulation

Regulators are expecting financial institutions to provide detailed modeling of deposits and ever-greater documentation in the next round of stress tests, bankers and consultants say.

The Treasury Department and its anti-money laundering unit find themselves on the defensive as bankers say they're cutting ties with entire business sectors as a result of blunt enforcement efforts.

Fannie Mae executives are confident they can responsibly administer a new 3% down payment program to ensure it's an effective tool for increasing access to credit.

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case related to the use of disparate impact theory to charge organizations with discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. The case highlights a key problem with current interpretation of the statute: it ignores a basic statistical pattern that makes it hard to determine which practices would produce a better outcome for protected groups.

Well-managed banks have the opportunity to issue shares and strengthen their capital base before new requirements take effect and the markets adjust to a low-risk environment.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed Frontier Bank FSB in Palm Desert, Calif.

The Financial Stability Board's "total loss-absorbing capacity" proposal would require big banks to hold a minimum amount of capital and debt instruments to be used to shoulder the costs of a failure.

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WASHINGTON — Policymakers should consider changing rules that limit the amount of debt that holding companies can carry in order to exempt more community banks from the restrictions, a senior Federal Reserve Board official said Friday.

Regulators' patience is running thin for banks that continue to overindulge in leveraged loans despite repeated warnings from the agencies over the past two years.

The U.S. Postal Service's inspector general said Friday that it is seeking proposals from outside groups about possible postal banking services.

The state that forged a middle ground on payday lending serves as both a potential model and a warning sign for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Borrowers must have other factors such as housing counseling, stronger credit histories, or lower debt to income ratios to qualify for new low-down-payment loans, said FHFA Director Mel Watt.

Bank regulators said Friday they are going to ramp up reviews of leveraged lending after an annual exam found such loans are still a crux of criticized assets among large commercial credits shared by lenders.

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

The Financial Stability Board released its updated list of globally significant banks subject to higher capital charges on Thursday, detailing what surcharge institutions will face.

Lawmakers could address several key bills for the financial industry this fall, including on terrorism risk insurance and a capital change for systemically important insurance companies, during what is anticipated to be a brisk lame-duck session.

Lack of diversity in the sales force is one of several nagging issues underlying mortgage lenders' concerns about tepid home sales.

Freddie Mac will return $2.8 billion to the Treasury Department next month, bringing its total payments to about $20 billion above what it got in aid after the 2008 credit crisis.

The Massachusetts Division of Banks plans to hold a public hearing today on proposed changes to state lending regulations.