Law and regulation

The largest global banks halved the shortfall in the capital they will need to meet Basel rules in the first six months of 2013, leaving a gap of 57.5 billion euros ($79 billion).

Predictions vary widely on how hard it will be for foreign banks to comply with a new capital rule from the Federal Reserve. Many will have to sell branches or loans, or they may just need to shuffle some legal paperwork, depending on whom you speak with.

The increased scrutiny, mortgage bankers complain, would end recent attempts to provide home loans to borrowers with weaker credit, something the FHA has been trying to spur for years.

Consumers were less eager to seek new mortgage loans for home purchases in the first quarter, in part due to cold weather across swaths of the country, according to a Federal Reserve report released Wednesday.

After halting an Ocwen deal to purchase mortgage servicing rights from Wells Fargo, New York's Department of Financial Services is turning its attention to another nonbank servicer, Nationstar.

If banks that performed well for their shareholders from 2002 to 2012 have so many older directors, why would some banks force directors to retire once they hit 70 or 72 years of age?

A House subcommittee is set to discuss whether U.S. financial reform impedes our ability to compete with firms overseas. But if they were truly worried about global competitiveness, there are other, more pressing issues lawmakers should be analyzing.

Once again, the Office of Management and Budget's estimates of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. costs are out of step with the FDIC's own projections, and appear out of step with reality.

While the budget was once again focused on other issues than financial services, it provided an update on the White House's priorities as well as a prediction that the FHA's fortunes will soon improve.

Citadel EFT, a credit card processing firm, announced March 4 that it is exploring ways to allow state-licensed marijuana businesses to accept electronic payments from their customers.

Citadel EFT, a credit card processing firm, announced Tuesday that it is exploring ways to allow state-licensed marijuana businesses to accept electronic payments from their customers.

A group of major banks have agreed to collaborate on a centralized know-your-customer registry with the financial messaging service Swift.

Policymakers should focus less on the government's retreat from the mortgage market and more on creating the kind of investment environment needed to attract significant private capital.

EBay Inc. Director Marc Andreessen struck back at activist investor Carl Icahn, who has accused the venture capitalist of conflicts of interest for his role in the company's sale of videoconferencing service Skype.

Charles Taylor, a senior official at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said certain highly complex branches of foreign-owned institutions are being subjected to aspects of the agency's "heightened expectations" program.

Rules enacted last year appear to be steadily forcing banks to exit the mortgage servicing business, transferring such rights to nonbanks. The situation is stoking fears on Capitol Hill and elsewhere that regulators went too far.

More credit card companies are offering free credit scores to their customers as they look for ways to distinguish their products from those of their rivals.

WASHINGTON -- Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota will become the next chair of the Financial Services Policy Committee starting on March 17.

Regulators continue to make Bank Secrecy Act compliance one of their top priorities, according to newly available information on enforcement actions.

What is different postcrisis is that the actions of a minority of bankers have saddled the finance sector with a greedy, ethics-challenged image that may hinder recruiting the best and brightest talent.