Law and regulation

In his first policy speech, Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Stanley Fischer highlighted strides regulators have made since the crisis, but said more progress is necessary.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau settlement with ACE Cash Express Thursday sends another strong message about practices it may target in industry rules.

John Delaney, D-Md., John Carney, D-Del., and Jim Himes, D-Conn., introduced a new housing bill Thursday designed to provide an explicit government backstop for the market but still increase private sector participation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reached a $10 million settlement with payday lender ACE Cash Express over allegations that it used illegal debt collection practices.

Large bank holding companies defy both effective management and effective regulation. The solution is to allow shareholders of each company's subsidiary to choose its management and judge its performance.

Julian Castro, who was confirmed as the new secretary for housing and urban development, is bound to face continued industry lobbying to lower premiums paid to the Federal Housing Administration.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is warning that a key House appropriations bill risks undercutting regulators' ability to oversee the financial system.

WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Wednesday issued a final rule increasing examination fees for large institutions.

A new report from the Basel Committee says that using public funds to resolve weak banks may be considered in systemic situations. If even capital rule-writers are willing to consider more bailouts, the only way to end "too big to fail" may be to break up the megabanks.

Citigroup may reach an agreement with federal prosecutors as early as next week to resolve a probe into sales of mortgage-backed bonds before the 2008 financial crisis, a person familiar with the negotiations said.

The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would expand information-sharing between the public and private sectors about cybersecurity threats.

Rep. Darrell Issa on Tuesday accused the Justice Department and FDIC of letting the anti-fraud crackdown called Operation Choke Point interfere with legitimate banking business. He also said that legal pot businesses should have access to the banking system.

Nearly six months into her first term as Federal Reserve Board chair, Janet Yellen has sought to put financial stability on nearly equal footing as monetary policy.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is allowing lenders to skip "ability-to-repay" rule when transferring a loan to the kin of a deceased borrower or for other life events.

Unless we return the Farm Credit System to its original mission, taxpayers could be on the hook for a bailout in the near future and farmers’ access to credit could be reduced, writes Rep. Marlin Stutzman.

Amex has rules that bar merchants from steering their customers to a particular card – perhaps by offering a discount if you use Visa – and the government alleges that these rules violate antitrust law. What’s this case all about? American Banker's editors discuss.

The CFPB should prohibit financial institutions from reordering transactions to maximize overdraft fees, require that fees be proportional to a bank’s costs to provide the loan and ban providers of prepaid cards from offering overdraft loans altogether, according to Susan Weinstock of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Wall Street's biggest trade group has proposed a government-industry cyber war council to stave off terrorist attacks that could trigger financial panic by temporarily wiping out account balances, according to an internal document.

American Express charges the highest average fees of any card network and Amex’s rules prevent retailers from taking steps to reduce those costs, the Department of Justice argued in court on July 7.

A recent GAO report called for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be involved in interagency discussions about virtual currencies, but others say the bureau's jurisdiction is murky, technology may move too fast for consumer rulemaking and too much regulation too early could kill innovation.