Law and regulation

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray told House lawmakers on Wednesday that allegations of discrimination and retaliation among agency employees were due to its efforts to rapidly build itself up following its creation three years ago.

The Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee approved legislation Wednesday that would require federal agencies to be more transparent in settlements reached with banks and other companies for breaking the law.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday took yet another incremental step to pare down its stimulus program to $25 billion.

Bank of America's Countrywide unit was ordered to pay $1.3 billion in penalties for defective mortgage loans it sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, a little more than half of what the U.S. had requested.

The Justice Department's legal case against American Express will not benefit consumers and will weaken competition, said Jeff Campbell, executive vice president and CFO of American Express.

Lenders aren't keeping pace with a mounting backlog of applications for federal mortgage aid, placing some borrowers at increasing risk of losing their homes to foreclosure, according to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., would delay implementation of a provision of Basel III capital rules that establishes higher requirements on mortgage servicing rights.

The Justice Department's legal case against American Express will not benefit consumers and will weaken competition, said Jeff Campbell, executive vice president and CFO of American Express.

An in-depth look by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau into its consumer complaint database has yielded some surprising insights, including a relative lack of grievances against payday lenders and that most consumers appear satisfied by companies' response.

WASHINGTON — Federal and state regulators announced a settlement Tuesday with Colfax Capital Corp. and its subsidiary over charges it "lured" 17,000 U.S. servicemembers into expensive loans with hidden charges and withheld information on billing statements.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued five corrective actions and three money penalties in June, according to the agency's monthly roundup of regulatory actions.

Following a wave of enforcement actions against global and national institutions, regulators are now scrutinizing the anti-money laundering controls of community banks, says Walter Mix, a consultant and former regulator. Examiners are raising questions about banks' transaction monitoring systems, as well as the documentation supporting decisions about enhanced due diligence (such as whether to file suspicious activity reports), he says.

The FDIC tries to take itself off the front lines of the battle over Operation Choke Point by formally withdrawing a list of high-risk merchants.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, bailed out by British taxpayers during the financial crisis, will pay 218 million pounds ($370 million) in fines to U.K. and U.S. regulators after manipulating benchmark interest rates.

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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