Law and regulation

The distinguished economist will have to make monetary policy a priority during her tenure as Fed chair. But Yellen won’t forget about her financial regulatory role and is likely to support stricter capital requirements along with enhanced nonbank supervision.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's recent proposal regarding the definition of "qualified mortgages" differs from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's QM rule. These key differences are causing lenders to be overwhelmed with how to implement the agency's plan.

Members of the Senate Banking Committee quickly took sides in the brewing battle over the nomination of Janet Yellen to head the Federal Reserve Board, but it was already apparent that she was ultimately likely to win confirmation.

Hopefully, examiners will respect good-faith efforts by banks and third-party processors to verify that a merchant’s business is legal – rather than expect financial institutions to guarantee how courts will decide.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. urged a U.S. judge to reject a proposed $500 million class-action settlement between Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide unit and investors in devalued mortgage-backed securities.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce recently moved to shut down and place into receivership two collection agencies that allegedly operated without a license and that owner Robert Dunham tapped to help finance his personal extravagances, the state agency reported Wednesday.

President Obama will nominate Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen tomorrow to head the U.S. central bank, a White House official said in an e-mailed statement.

Lenders are increasingly anxious about how to deal with the Department of Housing and Urban Development's recent proposal concerning the definition of "qualified mortgages," noting the agency's plan differs in key respects from the CFPB's QM rule.

According to an essay by Raymond Natter, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Dodd-Frank Act may cut off payments to conflict-torn areas.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported continued positive signs about the health of its insurance fund, and said improvement in the industry has also meant lower premiums for some institutions.

Banks still using Microsoft's Windows XP operating system had better beware, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council announced this week.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. told banks under its watch to prioritize "prudent interest rate risk oversight."

The Dodd-Frank Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau might end up denying crucial funds to nations emerging from war, a new study says.

The Federal Reserve Board has freed Bank Hapoalim from an order that had required the Israeli bank to tighten its anti-money laundering oversight.

Ukash provides its online payments services in 55 countries with more than 420,000 locations worldwide. But it has so far steered clear of the U.S.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citi insist that the Federal Housing Administration will compensate them for all foreclosure losses. But if the banks’ underwriting proves shoddy, they could be on the hook for billions of dollars.

Bankers warn that a default on certain Treasuries could put market collateral at risk, harm overnight lending, drain key sources of liquidity from the market and shatter consumer confidence.

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed paperwork Monday to merge the two companies' securitization platforms into a single unit, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Community bankers should opt out of the requirement to deduct unrealized gains and losses from AOCI; be aware of the challenges and opportunities that Basel III creates for M&A and capital raising; and stay on guard for changes to risk weighting of mortgages, experts say.

Several community banks are scrambling to address Tarp balances, either by selling or refinancing, as the dividend rate on those shares is set to nearly double.