Law and regulation

If compliance burden sends traders packing for Russia, Brazil or Mexico, the U.S. would lose not only investment capital but also the ability to monitor algorithmic trading for manipulative practices.

What we have seen from the bank regulatory agencies is an unsustainable proliferation of rules. Big banks are taking on water to keep up, while community banks are being swamped.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. over Washington Mutual's legal liabilities, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Financial Institutions already disclose their agreements with schools that allow marketing of credit cards, but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said that should be extended to debit, prepaid and other products as well.

JPMorgan Chase pressured customers to repay debts they did not owe, sold collections agencies rights to credit card accounts that had been extinguished in bankruptcy and tolerated frequent errors by its third-party collections attorneys, according to a lawsuit filed by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood on Tuesday.

The diverging responses of the nation's biggest bank and its largest retailer illustrate the broad divide that the Federal Reserve will be seeking to bridge in its effort to encourage a speedier payments infrastructure within a decade.

The final Volcker Rule is much friendlier to syndicated lenders and collateralized loan obligations than earlier versions. However, some banks will still have to divest some CLO holdings, and leveraged lenders face other regulatory challenges.

A group of Democratic senators introduced legislation Tuesday that would prohibit employers from requiring applicants to disclose their credit history as part of the hiring process.

The Office of Financial Research released a report Tuesday that cited continued risks from a reliance on short-term wholesale funding and unveiled an early prototype for how it plans to track threats to the financial system.

Regulatory officials have been optimistic that they would finish critical aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act by the yearend, but as the year comes to a close, banking agencies are likely to miss the target.

LNB Bancorp (LNBB) in Lorain, Ohio, has sold $3.7 million of stock as part of a plan to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Chinese central bank officials told third-party payment service providers to stop offering clearing services to online Bitcoin exchanges, according to China Business News, which is affiliated with the Shanghai government.

Actions jointly announced against California-based CashCall signal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's intent to target online lending based on claims originating in states.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is requesting public comment on a plan to gradually reduce the maximum size of loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase from mortgage lenders.

With payday loans in regulators' cross hairs, banks are looking to check cashing as a way to bring in new customers and boost fee income.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and four state attorneys general on Monday announced a series of lawsuits against CashCall Inc., a California-based online loan servicer accused of usury and deceptive collection practices through its affiliation with the online lender Western Sky.

The industry has moved from a traditional customer-oriented banking model to a transactional and counterparty-oriented model. This change has contributed to an operating environment in which the opportunity for abuse and deception has increased.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and four state attorneys general on Monday announced a series of lawsuits against CashCall Inc., a California-based online loan servicer accused of usury and deceptive collection practices through its affiliation with the online lender Western Sky.

Zions Bancorp (ZION) said the Volcker Rule will force it to take a $387 million charge on its portfolio of collateralized debt obligations.

If the banks do not want to divest from these fringe consumer finance companies, the OCC should make them do so. Their reputations are at risk.