Law and regulation

Following a series of high-profile data breaches, legislators in the nation's largest state are kicking off a debate that has nationwide implications.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s fourth-quarter report on industry health showed continued challenges to growth, but the second straight increase in net interest margins is a promising sign for the future.

Representative Walter Jones was a rare Republican who backed tough banking regulations after the 2008 economic collapse. Now Wall Street wants him out of office.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with four state attorneys general, announced Wednesday they had filed a civil lawsuit against ITT Educational Services, one of the most expensive for-profit education providers.

New York regulator Benjamin Lawsky raised concern about conflicts of interest in mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial's business relationships, warning that a "tangled web of conflicts could create incentives that harm borrowers and push homeowners unduly into foreclosure."

A tax plan from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp would further limit the mortgage-interest break and end the deduction for state and local taxes, according to a nonpartisan congressional summary.

JPMorgan Chase is the first bank to adopt a new disclosure box for its prepaid cards, developed by Pew Charitable Trusts.

The Federal Reserve Board has released Metropolitan Bank Holding in New York from a January 2011 enforcement action.

In the FDIC's fourth quarter earnings report, the agency said loan buybacks fell to their lowest level in 5 years.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM:US) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS:US) were among 18 financial firms that agreed to stop participating in some surveys of analyst sentiment while New York investigates early access to the information.

The most notable quotes from American Banker stories of the previous week. Readers are encouraged to add their own observations in the Comments fields at the bottom of each slide.

Bank of America Corp., the lender that turned to Warren Buffett in 2011 for a capital injection, reached a deal with the billionaire's company to change terms so the investment is treated more favorably by regulators.

WASHINGTON -- Banks and thrifts earned $40.3 billion in the fourth quarter -- a nearly 17% rise from a year earlier -- largely due once again to reduced loan loss provisions, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wednesday.

The framework released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology should serve as an important tool for banks in meeting regulators’ heightened expectations for managing cyber risk.

Bank of America Corp., the second-biggest U.S. lender, disclosed new probes into its mortgage and foreign-exchange businesses and boosted an estimate of potential legal losses by 20 percent to $6.1 billion.

JPMorgan Chase laid out a careful plan for a better 2014 on Tuesday, as it tries to recover from a year spent paying for past mistakes. The bank is hoping that more expense cuts, improved technology and a greater reliance on wealth management will boost its future growth.

Morgan Stanley (MS) agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $275 million to resolve a probe into the sale of subprime mortgage-backed securities in 2007.

The fate of a measure that provided key tax relief to distressed homeowners is hanging in the balance as Congress debates a larger package of tax extenders.

The biggest U.S. banks and insurance companies would have to pay a quarterly 3.5 basis-point tax on assets exceeding $500 billion under a plan to be unveiled this week by Congress's top Republican tax writer.

Foundation Bancorp (FDNB) in Bellevue, Wash., has been released from an enforcement action issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and state regulators.