Law and regulation

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.

Visa Inc. said it awarded Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf compensation for fiscal year 2013 valued at $10.5 million.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday closed Texas Community Bank, a $160 million-asset institution located north of Houston.

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The Federal Reserve Board on Friday announced the new chairs of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks for 2014.

While the agencies successfully finalized the long-awaited Volcker Rule this week, they are expected to miss yearend deadlines for several other rules, including ones that would institute tougher capital requirements on big banks and force them to issue long-term debt.

WASHINGTON -- Regulators were clearly giddy, and some might suggest punchy, when they finalized the Volcker Rule after three years of inter-agency squabbling.

Bitcoin enthusiasts are expressing confusion and surprise after Casascius Coin, which encodes a digital bitcoins onto physical coins, halted operations after receiving notification from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network that it is subject to the department's oversight.

Lower credit losses and higher premium revenues pushed the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance fund closer to positive territory and the agency says it is on pace to reach its statutory capital requirement two years ahead of schedule.