Law and regulation

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 But the research supporting this argument is based on outdated analysis of high-cost, risky loans.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.

Richard Hunt of the Consumer Bankers Association describes the changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau he'll press for in the next Congress, regardless of which party controls the Senate.

Richard Hunt of the Consumer Bankers Association describes the changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau he'll press for in the next Congress, regardless of which party controls the Senate.

The Community Reinvestment Act is often used as a tool to address a broad range of social problems. But the law’s expanded purpose may distract banks from their primary mission of direct lending to low- and moderate-income communities.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York botched oversight of the JPMorgan Chase & Co. office that suffered $6.2 billion in trading losses attributed to the so- called London Whale, a watchdog report showed.

WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators finalized a securities risk retention rule on Tuesday designed to set the stage for the future of the secondary mortgage market.

The GSE regulator's second attempt to stimulate the mortgage market is receiving a lukewarm reception from lenders, who remain gun-shy after being forced by Fannie and Freddie to repurchase billions of dollars in soured loans since 2008.

The SEC's mammoth whistleblower bounty offers a reminder that financial institutions should emphasize a culture of compliance and transparency, lest frustrated employees head to the government to find an audience that will listen.

Regulators see reviving a 2011 proposal addressing incentives in bank pay as a way to deal with cultural problems at banks and bad behavior by their employees.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro challenged lenders to make more mortgages, saying the credit pendulum has swung too far on the side of caution.

Concerns still remain among community bankers that examiners could push individual community banks to undergo stress tests, even if the agencies refuse to make it mandatory.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule Monday that will allow institutions that limit the amount of customer data they share to post annual privacy notices online rather than by paper delivery.

Digital currency startups are trying to reframe the debate surrounding customer privacy, anti-money-laundering compliance and data security by backing a new set of guidelines for managing consumers' online identities.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is close to issuing refinements to the government-sponsored enterprises' representation and warranty framework that will limit lender liability on buybacks of legacy loans.