Law and regulation

Instead of dwelling on tired arguments, industry reps and consumer advocates should focus on, among other things, ending the debt cycle, promoting financial literacy and helping borrowers build credit.

The U.S. payments industry has long agreed to disagree on the way to properly route EMV debit transactions, stalling the country's shift to chip-based cards. First Data hopes its decision to support and share Visa's technology will finally break the stalemate.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the hedge fund's lawsuit against the government will not be thrown out of court, allowing it to proceed with discovery.

Bank of America officials said Wednesday that the federal government made a mistake when calculating a proposed penalty on its gross "gain" from defective mortgages sold by its Countrywide unit.

The FDIC released its Quarterly Banking Profile on Wednesday, detailing the highs and lows for banks in the fourth quarter and for all of 2013. Following are some of the key points unveiled:

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is asking banks to voluntarily provide their customers with credit scores used to make lending decisions.

The need that drives millions of people to seek out small loans isn’t going away. Lenders can fill the gap by restructuring payment models, focusing on a borrower’s ability to repay and developing a variety of solutions.

The virtual currency and payment system "has allowed users to participate in illicit activity, while also being highly unstable and disruptive to our economy," Sen. Joe Manchin wrote to regulators in a public letter released Wednesday.

Do we really want banks to be stable, profitable and internationally competitive or do we want them to be cash cows for Congress?

Chances are remote that Congress will pass a big bank tax into law this year, but House Republicans' sudden embrace of the idea suggests it has staying power.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wants federal regulators to ban Bitcoin.

Thirteen Democratic lawmakers are encouraging the Department of Justice not to cave in the face of Republican opposition to a crackdown on online payday lenders.

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.