Law and regulation

Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer took issue with a government watchdog report that criticized both his agency and the government-sponsored enterprises for failing to catch the massive fraud at Taylor, Bean & Whitaker.

A bulletin from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlining new policies for mortgage servicing transfers has the industry on alert for another possible round of rulemaking coming down the pike.

WASHINGTON — Regulators next week plan to finalize a tough new liquidity measure as well as propose margin requirements for banks engaged in swaps activities.

Allowing the Federal Home Loan Bank System to invest in mortgage-backed securities is just one of many ideas being pitched to policymakers to revive the private-label market.

For the first time in history, the Federal Reserve will have to engineer changes in the federal funds rate by using taxpayer dollars to pay a higher interest rate on reserves or to implement a reverse repurchase agreement program, according to Paul H. Kupiec of the American Enterprise Institute.

The Federal Housing Administration is changing a pair of rules on interest rate payments and resets to align with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's qualified mortgage rule.

Josh Rossi is best known for starting the first Satoshi Square, a gathering of Bitcoin enthusiasts who trade the virtual currency for cash in New York City's Union Square, in 2013. He has since brought his ideas to new companies and new parts of the world.

Congress should impose national data security standards on retailers in order to ward off cyberattacks and ensure the safekeeping of sensitive customer information, according to Carrie Hunt of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions.

Sen. Richard Shelby isn't new to Banking Committee leadership, but he would face a crucial ticking clock if he returns as chairman of the panel next year.

President Obama announced an initiative Tuesday with several large banks and mortgage servicers designed to make it easier for members of the military and their families to lower their mortgage payments.

Many active-duty service members are unaware that they are eligible to postpone mortgage payments under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A group of major financial services companies have pledged to improve communication about this option, according to the Financial Services Roundtable's Tim Pawlenty and John Dalton.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae all overlooked warning signs about Taylor, Bean & Whitaker that make them partly to blame for the mortgage lender's multibillion fraud scheme, according to a government watchdog report.

WASHINGTON -Global Client Solutions, a large payment processor, has agreed to pay $7 million to settle charges by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that it illegally collected upfront fees from consumers on behalf of debt-settlement companies.

Sen. Sherrod Brown may give the country's biggest banks heartburn, but there are signs he's positioning himself as an industry ally ahead of a potential bid to run the Banking Committee.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. agreed to pay $3.15 billion to repurchase residential mortgage-backed securities to resolve federal claims tied to the sale of the bonds to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

While new government guidance is intended to make banks more willing to do business with legal marijuana dealers, in practice it creates a new set of headaches for bankers.

Goldman Sachs is in the final stages of negotiating $1.1 billion settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, according to a news report Friday.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized revisions to its international money transfer rule that will provide certain remittances with a longer exemption.

In addition to key races important to the banking policy agenda, the larger contest for which party controls the Senate could also affect legislative efforts relevant to the industry.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council plans to regulate the asset management industry by targeting activities that pose systemic risk rather than the companies themselves. Regulators should take the same approach with life insurers, according to former U.S. Sen. Dirk Kempthorne.