Law and regulation

A potential $10 billion U.S. penalty against France's largest bank BNP Paribas SA for its alleged dealings with Iran and other sanctioned nations is stirring outrage in the country.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has closed Slavie Federal Savings Bank in Bel Air, Md.

IMGCAP(1)]

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is looking to ban a former Tennessee banker from the industry following his institution's 2012 failure.

Internal memos and emails show that the controversial probe was not exclusively focused on payday lending. At the same time, Justice officials did not think it was their problem if lawfully operating payday lenders lost their banking relationships as a result of the investigation.

The addition of a new community bank section in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s quarterly bank earnings report is meant to make up for distortions in how large banks drive industry data.

Lawmakers are working behind the scenes to spur a potential vote on legislation that would ease capital standards for insurance companies as soon as next week.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

American Bancorporation was the first-ever bank holding company thrown into bankruptcy by the holders of its trust-preferred securities. Regulators may be able to avoid similar bankruptcies if more flexibility is shown in allowing holding companies to access capital to pay off creditors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission appears poised to soon finalize a plan to reform the $2.6 trillion money market mutual fund industry.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is learning just how hard it is to put effective curbs on small-dollar consumer credit.

A Republican-led congressional panel is accusing the Department of Justice of overstepping its legal authority and unfairly harming legitimate merchants as part of an investigation into fraudsters' use of the banking system.

Fifth Third Bancorp of Cincinnati expects to report an $81 million gain in the second quarter after selling shares of payment processing firm Vantiv.

Ally Bank CEO Barbara Yastine admits there’s a drawback to not having bricks and mortar — but it isn’t enough to make her regret not having branches under the Ally banner, which replaced the GMAC Bank brand five years ago this month. Yastine also discusses Know Your Customer standards and why the company is standing by its indirect auto finance model.

The car title loan industry is poised to grow substantially if it's not covered by CFPB regulations on payday lending. But the bureau has not laid the groundwork for title lending rules in the same way it has for payday lending.

The regulatory focus must shift from prohibiting undesirable risk behavior to changing the incentives that cause that behavior.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined RealtySouth, Alabama's largest real estate firm, $500,000 for allegedly steering consumers to an affiliated title services company.

Banks are still feeling negative effects from last year's sudden rise in medium- and long-term interest rates, but plenty of signs in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s latest industry update continue to point to a lending resurgence in the near future.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Wednesday it will begin rotating out resident examiners in the largest banks as part of a slew of internal changes it plans to make later this year based upon suggestions made by foreign supervisors.

WASHINGTON — Stanley Fischer was sworn in as a member of the Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday.