Law and regulation

Higher capital requirements for federal mortgage lenders, more stringent QM and QRM requirements for borrowers and a heightened reliance on private markets will help keep taxpayers from paying for future bailouts.

Bank of America, sued by U.S. attorneys in August over an $850 million mortgage bond, faces three additional Justice Department civil probes over mortgage-backed securities, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.

In a 113-page brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Fed argued it had followed congressional intent in drafting the provision required under the Dodd-Frank Act, which mandated that the central bank establish how much banks can charge merchants in interchange fees for debit cards.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Director Richard Cordray said Monday that the agency has been in contact with vendors and they should be ready to comply with the qualified-mortgage rule by January.

Prudential Financial has opted not to appeal a decision made by U.S. regulators to label the firm as a risk to the financial system.

The Treasury Department wants to hire someone to help manage risks and protect against losses on federal programs, according to an internal memo.

Bankers must resist the urge to obsess over the hassles of QM and other new rules, says Jeff Plagge, the new chairman of the American Bankers Association and CEO of Northwest Financial in Iowa. Doing so distracts them from adequately serving customers and contributing to economic growth, he says.

CFPB director Richard Cordray told attendees at the American Bankers Association's annual conference that the bureau will be flexible with banks that make "good faith" efforts to comply by January.

The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are expected to release a proposal that would require the biggest U.S. financial institutions to hold long-term debt that could be converted to equity should a bank fail.

It’s almost impossible to disclose the exact amount of third-party fees that will be charged for delivering money when those third parties may include a village council or military authority.

JPMorgan Chase's record $13 billion settlement has significant implications for the financial industry, but they may not be what casual observers expect. Following is a guide to the key takeaways from the deal.

New York financial regulator Benjamin Lawsky is urging the state to make it harder for debt collectors to win court judgments using shoddy documentation.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) has reached a tentative resolution of all civil mortgage-bond related matters with the Department of Justice under which it will pay a record $13 billion, a person familiar with settlement talks said.

JPMorgan Chase's settlement talks with U.S. authorities over its sale of mortgage bonds include a tentative agreement for about $4 billion with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Enforcement actions relating to anti-money laundering rules and the Bank Secrecy Act were a prominent theme in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's monthly round-up of orders issued from late August through September.

FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco has been vague about why the regulator rejected Fannie’s force-placed proposal, a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from consumer advocates.

The qualified mortgage rule remains the big unknown in the mortgage industry just three months before it's scheduled to become law of the land. We speak with officers of the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers about how they're prepping for this brave new world.

For a company facing as much public scrutiny as JPMorgan Chase (JPM), even the smallest strategic move can ignite a firestorm of speculation about what’s really behind its actions.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

The Federal Trade Commission should take more steps to police the acquiring industry and halt fraudulent practices, says Robert Carr, longtime CEO of Heartland Payment Systems Inc.