Law and regulation

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

Trading revenue at banks and thrifts fell in the fourth quarter because of weak demand as well as seasonal patterns, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Friday.

David Williams, the U.S. Postal Service's inspector general, defends a proposal — that the Postal Service should get into banking — that has come under fire from many in the financial industry.

Recent comments by Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry, suggesting steps to make large-bank executives accountable for anti-money laundering problems, have reignited the debate over where to direct blame for Bank Secrecy Act violations.

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee leaders said Friday they would hold a panel vote on April 29 to reform the housing finance system.

Top financial executives met Thursday to discuss how their industry can innovate, but most of the discussion focused on a more defensive topic: what banks and the government need to do to stave off mounting cybersecurity threats.

WASHINGTON — A House Financial Services subcommittee said Thursday it would feature a "whistleblower" at a hearing next week looking into grievances filed by employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Los Angeles banker Maria Contreras-Sweet has been confirmed as the new head of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Mortgages at the nation's largest financial institutions continued to improve for the fifth consecutive quarter at the end of last year, an indication that 2013 was a steadier year for mortgage portfolios than the quakes seen following the housing crisis.

Carol Galante has a challenge: Spur lenders to take more care when originating Federal Housing Administration loans, without scaring them away or causing them to hike pricing to cover the additional risk.

Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Carol Galante explains why she's encouraged lenders are lowering minimum credit scores, how manual underwriting can help overlooked borrowers and why the agency's volume is headed.

A bipartisan group of House members argues that licensed, fully lawful companies are being harmed by examiners’ increased scrutiny of online lending.

Ally Financial Inc., the auto lender rescued by the U.S. government during the 2008 financial crisis, is helping the Treasury Department divest its stake by seeking as much as $2.7 billion in an initial public offering.

The Federal Reserve Board's stress tests left a fair amount of blood on the floor for banks. Twenty-five of 30 passed, but the central bank rejected the capital plans of four banks based on qualitative factors, rather than straight-up numbers. Only one bank failed both rounds of stress tests based on its numerical score. Following are the banks that fared poorly:

The recent IRS ruling on how Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are taxed brings the U.S. in line with regulations in Canada, Australia, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

The "dream team" of bankers who set up Greenville, S.C.-based CertusBank attracted half a billion dollars from hedge funds to buy failed banks. Lately, the focus has shifted to big losses, lavish spending and payments to a consulting firm owned by top executives.

An obscure bill in the House would go a long way to protect taxpayers by giving megabanks an incentive to deleverage and shrink. So why has it gone nowhere?

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., unveiled a new plan Thursday to overhaul the housing finance market, entering what's becoming a crowded field of proposals to restructure the mortgage system.

A road map for regulation of virtual currency is beginning to emerge as more states appear willing to issue licenses for entities offering exchange and other services.

WASHINGTON — Payday lenders told the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday that they will accept new regulation so long as it does not "cripple" the industry and credit availability.