Law and regulation

Instead of trying to stop companies from offering payday loans and check cashing services to lower-income households, we should encourage more competitors — including banks — to enter this space.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Action Task Force sounded an alarm Thursday that banks are overreacting in their response to recent anti-money-laundering enforcement actions by cutting off whole swaths of business.

Most of the securitized single-family market is currently exempt, but only a tiny part of the commercial equivalent is. However, nonexempt commercial will get more expensive to issue, and the single-family exemption could change.

WASHINGTON — Risks posed by rising interest rates are once again a top theme in stress test scenarios released by the Federal Reserve Board on Thursday.

The Fed's hotly-anticipated road map outlining plans to speed up the U.S. payment system will call for the creation of several industry-led task forces and recommend building a new infrastructure to facilitate real-time payments.

The Fed's hotly-anticipated road map outlining plans to speed up the U.S. payment system will call for the creation of several industry-led task forces and recommend building a new infrastructure to facilitate real-time payments.

Don Beyer, a northern Virginia car dealer who's running for office as a Democrat, is hoping to bridge the vast divide between the industry and the CFPB.

Small banks and credit unions should work together to put pressure on legislators and regulators to reduce unnecessary and cumbersome regulations.

The Volcker Rule's data-intensive requirements are creating headaches for banks that still rely on manual processes and use multiple, disparate systems for securities and different derivatives trading.

Heightened U.S. regulatory scrutiny of leveraged lending is leading the biggest banks to back away from funding some takeovers financed by debt, creating an opportunity for smaller competitors to step in.

WASHINGTON — Mortgage lenders will have 210 days to fix errors in their calculations of points and fees and reimburse borrowers for any overages under a final rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The payments company and big-bank trade group plans to create a ubiquitous, real-time payment system over the coming years, supplementing the push for same-day settlement of ACH transactions.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve Board and Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday both signed off on an interagency rule requiring securitizers to hold 5% of the credit risk on loans sold to investors.

Christine Cumming, the first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said Wednesday that she plans to retire next June.

A top enforcer for the SEC says the agency is worried that banks are concealing asset risk while also discussing his strategy for uncovering wrongdoing by banks and other firms.

While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wait for Congress to decide when and how to act on housing industry legislation, the government-sponsored enterprises are working with their regulator on "nonlegislative GSE reform" that will better prepare them to implement new laws.

Some banks try to justify tight underwriting standards by arguing that borrowers with lower credit scores and those who can only afford lower down payments are more likely to default. But the research supporting this argument is based on outdated analysis of high-cost, risky loans.

Senate Banking Committee leaders are raising concerns about continued cyberattacks on the financial system and pressing regulators about their plans for fostering greater security.

The risk retention rule unveiled Tuesday was hailed by the industry for its definition of a "qualified residential mortgage," but analysts say a comeback for private-label securitization still faces huge obstacles.

New York banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky is sending a new warning shot over the bow of Ocwen Financial, which has been scrutinized by regulators for more than a year.