Law and regulation

American Banker's 4th annual conference on the regulatory climate featured sharp warnings on the need for cybersecurity, diverse opinions on issues from Operation Choke Point to the utility of anti-money laundering procedures, and signs of optimism about the industry’s future. Here are six themes that emerged during the event.

A high percentage of Federal Housing Administration-insured loans are falling into the "higher priced" bucket due to a series of mortgage insurance hikes over the past several years.

In the coming months, banks, mortgage lenders, consumer advocates and policy wonks will be slicing and dicing the latest Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, as they do every year. Rarely, if ever, have the stakes been higher.

A program that moves distressed mortgages out of the foreclosure pipeline can save the FHA and GSEs money and give troubled borrowers a better shot at staying in their homes — but only if it's properly implemented.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has agreed to ramp up its security policies on data collection in response to a recent Government Accountability Office report that raised nearly a dozen recommendations on the topic.

In a speech Tuesday, U.S. Bank Chief Executive Officer Richard Davis also offered mostly upbeat views about the evolving, more stringent expectations of bank regulators.

Esther George, president of the Kansas City Fed, highlighted the shortcomings of banking regulation, especially as applied to community banks, and said the "pendulum has swung too far" on consumer protection.

RentTrack and TransUnion have partnered to ensure renters "get the credit they deserve for on-time monthly payments."

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery pushed back again Tuesday against the idea that reports filed by bankers are not used by law enforcement officials.

Rep. John Delaney said Tuesday that he's "optimistic" Congress could take up reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac next term, despite the political difficulties lawmakers have faced in getting legislation approved over the past two years.

Speaking at American Banker's Regulatory Symposium, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig said complex firms should not discount regulators' warnings of heightened supervision if their 2015 resolution plans fail to impress.

The Federal Reserve is tracking the competitive climate among community banks, including the dearth of new charter activity. Key officials also used opening remarks at the Fed's community banking conference to outline ways they are trying to improve communication with bankers.

In a broad-ranging Q&A at American Banker's Regulatory Symposium, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry questioned the asset threshold used to subject larger banks to enhanced rules, and discussed examiners' concerns about the "culture" at banks.

There were fewer institutions originating mortgages in 2013, while low- and moderate-income borrowers took a smaller share of industry volume, according to the recently released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.

Mortgage underwriting overlays are not only tighter than they were precrisis, they're more restrictive than they were 15 years ago — a trend that Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro wants to change.

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $5 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims that its brokerage unit failed to prevent an employee from trading on nonpublic information related to the 2010 acquisition of Burger King.

Rebeca Romero Rainey, the CEO of Centinel Bank of Taos, will use part of her speech at a Federal Reserve conference on small banks this week to discuss the need for regulatory relief and her belief that community bankers have a duty to persevere under difficult circumstances.

A panel at American Banker's Regulatory Symposium about the Department of Justice program featured a spirited debate about whether it is prudently fighting fraud or cooling banks' relationships with legal businesses.

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser, who votes on policy this year, will retire after eight years in which he became a consistent critic of the central bank's unprecedented easing.

There is a good chance legislation that would provide regulatory relief to small banks and address concerns about which banks are dubbed systemically important could be wrapped in the same Senate bill next year, experts said at American Banker's 4th Annual Regulatory Symposium.