Law and regulation

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has withdrawn a list of merchant categories, including payday lenders, debt consolidation firms, pornography businesses and others, that it said warranted heightened attention by banks processing their transactions.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Monday that it has withdrawn a list of merchant categories, including payday lenders, debt consolidation firms, pornography businesses and others, that it said warranted heightened attention by banks processing their transactions.

Studies of whether big banks enjoy implicit funding subsidies should take into account the effect of post-Dodd-Frank legislation and regulation, write Aaron Klein and Peter Ryan of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City is planning to raise $525 million in fresh capital to satisfy regulators' concerns about its ability to withstand a severe economic downturn.

Theories abound. So do bankers' frustrations. And regulators like FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery promise the toughened stance is here to stay.

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Traditionally, August can be a wasteland for banking policy wonks as Congress takes a summer recess. But here's why next month could actually be an eventful one.

Castro takes helm as housing recovery continues to lag the rest of the economy.

A U.S. district court ordered BNP Paribas SA to pay $80 million for submitting false claims for payment in a federal grain export program.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has scheduled a hearing next Thursday to discuss a highly anticipated Government Accountability Office report on "too big to fail" due out the same day.

Although the proposal to add more Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requirements was required by the Dodd-Frank Act, those in the lending industry said they were taken aback by the amount of additional information the CFPB is seeking, arguing it goes way beyond the regulatory reform law.

Friends of Traditional Banking has narrowed its watch list of candidates for the November elections, saying it will focus solely on Senate races this year.

Bank of America agreed to pay $16.6 million to resolve claims it processed transactions for drug traffickers.

Banks can ensure that their oversight teams help to propel the whole company forward by creating a thorough governance structure and hiring overseers with experience in key business lines.

Banks face an overhaul of international rules for measuring losses on loans, derivatives and other assets as regulators seek to prevent a recurrence of the fire sales seen in the last financial crisis.

The U.S. Treasury, which finances more than 90 percent of new student loans, is exploring ways to make repayment more affordable as defaults by almost 7 million Americans and other strapped borrowers restrain economic growth.

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle Internet Financial, explains how his company follows anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations in a field associated in the public mind with anonymity and black markets. He also discusses the risk-based approach to AML and why compliance won't necessarily undermine Bitcoin's cost advantage as a payment system.

The Federal Housing Administration is revamping its loan review processes to correct faulty underwriting in an effort to lure institutions back to the program.

Former Massachusetts Senator Barney Frank unsurprisingly defended the financial reform law, yet also indicated he disagreed with regulators on implementation of some elements and a push by Sen. Elizabeth Warren to restore Depression-era rules separating banking from other industries.

The riskiest money-market mutual funds will be required to abandon their stable, $1-share value and allow their prices to float under rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.