Law and regulation

The battle over how to craft affordable housing requirements as part of mortgage finance reform took center stage on Thursday as witnesses at a Senate Banking Committee hearing sparred over the issue, including whether dedicated funds should be subject to Congressional appropriations.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday informed U.S. banks how it plans to craft scenarios for future stress test exercises.

WASHINGTON — Janet Yellen, vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board and President Obama's pick to run the central bank, will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Nov. 14.

If there is any chance a Basel Committee standard could apply to community banks, U.S. regulators need to make every effort to consult with these institutions before agreeing to it.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jeremy Stein warned Thursday that the current scope of regulatory tools will be insufficient to ward off the risks associated with asset fire sales.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday it was charging Castle & Cooke Mortgage $13 million in penalties for allegedly pushing consumers into costlier mortgages in order to give kickbacks to loan officers.

As indirect auto lenders brace for regulatory enforcement actions, a group of Senators are raising concerns over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's efforts to overhaul the car financing industry. American Banker reporters explain the implications of the clash between Congress and the CFPB.

Creditors who fear they (or their vendors) aren't in compliance may slow or stop making loans in order to avoid enforcement actions and lawsuits.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will begin to take comments on how to write new regulations for the debt collection industry. These new rules could impact how often a debt can be sold and to whom it can be sold.

The debt collection industry is gearing up for a major shake-up as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau looks to revamp rules that will likely cover every player in the market, from first-party creditors down to the buyers of others' debts.

Fannie Mae will pay the Treasury Department $8.6 billion after reporting a seventh consecutive quarterly profit on continued recovery in the housing market.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned chief executive officers of top U.S. banks in a private meeting last month that the final Volcker rule ban on proprietary trading would be tougher than Wall Street expects.

The former chief executive and chairman of Bank of the Commonwealth in Norfolk, Va., has been sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for spearheading a fraud scheme that led to the failure of the bank.

Bank of America Corp. is negotiating with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to settle allegations it deceived customers in the sales of credit-card add-on products.

The debt collection industry is gearing up for a major shake-up as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau looks to revamp rules that will likely cover every player in the market, from first-person creditors down to the buyers of others' debts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has created a database where borrowers can file complaints on payday loans.

Bank of America Corp. is negotiating with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to settle allegations it deceived customers in the sales of credit-card add-on products, according to two people briefed on the talks.

Alex J. Pollock, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, believes it is not too late to fix Dodd-Frank's credit ratings rule.

The agency has set up a database in which borrowers can file complaints about excessive fees, incorrect charges or other problems with payday loans, the CFPB announced Wednesday.

Bart Chilton, a U.S. regulator who pushed for tighter regulation of swaps and derivatives, said he will step down from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.