Law and regulation

Financial institutions and industries targeted by Operation Choke Point should expect to see a dramatic increase in the issuance of administrative subpoenas or civil investigative demands.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has chosen a dozen firms involved in the mortgage industry for a pilot program looking at whether electronic fillings can improve the mortgage closing process.

Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Carol Galante signaled more affordable FHA financing could be coming as the agency’s insurance fund improves.

Bank of America must pay a record amount for mortgage-related claims, but the accord still leaves questions about tax liability and other banks in the government's crosshairs.

Bank of America Corp. will pay $245 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it failed to disclose rising mortgage losses and the risks of bonds tied to home loans.

Some politicians and regulators appear determined to shrink big banks. But doing so could hurt Americans who appreciate big banks' geographical reach and wide range of services, according to financial markets scholar Stephen Matteo Miller.

Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures is sending its Bitcoin ATMs to areas that may not be completely welcoming to digital currency, with its newest machine touching down today in the West Village of New York City, the birthplace of the "BitLicense" regulatory concept.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau held a Texas-based subprime auto lender responsible for serious credit reporting errors tied to its third-party vendor's software.

Bank of America has agreed to pay $17 billion to settle federal investigators' allegations that it sold shoddy mortgage-backed securities ahead of the financial crisis.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered First Investors Financial Services Group to pay a nearly $3 million fine on charges the subprime auto lender reported inaccurate customer credit information to the credit bureaus.

Federal banking regulators are seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by payday lenders that claim to be victims of Operation Choke Point.

The 14-term congressman was a dominating force as House Banking Committee chairman. But the savings and loan deregulation bearing his name tarnished his legislative record, and ethics allegations created a cloud of suspicion that led to his ouster.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said examiners are on the lookout for borrowers getting the "runaround" when their loans are serviced by a new company.

The hot-button topic of what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should charge for loan guarantees is emerging as a key issue in reviving a private-label securitization market.

WASHINGTON — Friends of Traditional Banking, a banking SuperPAC, has narrowed its congressional elections "watch list" for the November midterm races to four tight Senate contests.

The FDIC, OCC and Fed all maintain that it's up to banks, not their regulators, to make decisions about whether to do business with payday lenders.

Standard Chartered agreed to pay $300 million for failing to flag suspicious transactions after promising to do so as part of a 2012 settlement with New York's banking regulator.

Mixed signals from regulators — on everything from electronic checks to Operation Choke Point - only create fear, uncertainty and doubt among those in the business of improving the payment system, writes Glen Fossella.

WASHINGTON — A group of retail trade associations and large retailers wants the Supreme Court to review the Federal Reserve Board's recent cap on debit card swipe fees that merchants say is higher than the fee limit envisioned in the Dodd-Frank Act.