Law and regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering new rules to govern debt collection practices that could for the first time include banks and other creditors that are collecting their own debt.

Deutsche Bank's former subsidiary MortgageIT has agreed to pay $12.1 million to settle claims that it discriminated against African-American and Hispanic consumers seeking mortgage loans, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said Tuesday.

The directive bars banks that do business with Fannie and Freddie from receiving commissions from insurers, but still lets insurers provide services for free or at a reduced cost.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to investigate several auto lenders for potential fair-lending violations.

The Senate Banking Committee dug into the details Tuesday of how to ensure that community banks retain access to a reformed housing finance system as agreement over a broad approach began to emerge.

By deleting three words from the Dodd-Frank Act, regulatory agencies could "refer to" credit ratings, which certainly makes sense, while never "requiring reliance" on them, which doesn’t.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is pushing for changes to derivatives contracts that would make it easier to wind down a major bank.

ACI Worldwide completed its $109 million acquisition of electronic billing technology developer Official Payments Holdings.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency told Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to end reimbursements to mortgage servicers for expenses related to captive reinsurance arrangements.

Lael Brainard, the Treasury Department's top international official, is likely to be nominated to the Federal Reserve Board, according to a person familiar with the decision who requested anonymity.

HSBC dropped out of negotiations to settle a European Union antitrust probe into allegations that banks rigged Euribor lending rates, according to a person familiar with the probe.

Top Federal Reserve Board officials are cautiously eyeing the possibility that a new liquidity proposal may incite a collateral shortfall just as the central bank starts to unwind its easy-money policies.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is treading a fine line between protecting individuals from wrongdoing and acting as if it knows what's good for them. American Banker staffers discuss how behavioral economics is shaping its policy decisions.

Nearly half of the large banks surveyed said mortgage applications were either "moderately" or "substantially" lower, according to a Fed survey released Monday.

The CFPB has referred at least three auto lenders to the Justice Department for further investigation into possible fair lending violations, even as lawmakers continue to question the agency's authority.

The Treasury Department plans to auction seven more lenders' Troubled Asset Relief Program shares, with a total face value of about $90 million.

No market should over-rely on one entity. But references in regulations and lending guidelines to the dominant credit score provider have created unintentional government brand endorsement and blocked new entrants.

Taylor Capital Group (TAYC) in Chicago is buying back its outstanding Troubled Asset Relief Program shares as it waits to close its sale to MB Financial (MBFI).

JPMorgan Chase said that the Justice Department is conducting at least eight separate investigations into the bank's activities, ranging from recruitment in Asia to its relationship with Ponzi scheme operator Bernard Madoff.