Law and regulation

James Mackey will become executive vice president and CFO of the government-sponsored enterprise the week of Nov. 11, Freddie announced Monday.

Carol Galante, the Federal Housing Administration's commissioner, sought to clarify the agency's plans for a government shutdown on Tuesday, emphasizing that it will continue to endorse single-family loans during the shutdown in contrast to earlier reports.

Under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, regulators have the authority to apply tighter regulations on firms that pose a significant threat to the financial system-and they are doing just that with asset management firms.

Timothy Pawlenty, president and chief executive of the Financial Services Roundtable, said Tuesday that housing finance reform is unlikely to pass until after the 2014 mid-term elections.

The largest banks have begun submitting a second round of plans to regulators outlining how they could be safely taken apart if they fail.

Internet-based, short-term lenders have various routes for setting up business, but most of their options expose them to potential legal challenges.

A federal court has ruled that state regulators have the authority over online lenders that operate from Native American land.

In a little-noticed agreement with Wells Fargo, the Office of Foreign Assets Control raised the bar on acceptable checking practices and potentially exposed many other financial institutions to penalties.

Editor-at-Large Barbara A. Rehm has argued for months that Dodd-Frank implementation should be sped up so banks can know the rules they face. A slew of sources disagree – here’s why.

New York's top banking overseer said any regulation of the nascent Bitcoin industry has to include transparency on who does the trading of the virtual currency, and if that hurts a business dominated by anonymous transactions, "so be it."

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), the largest U.S. home lender, agreed to an $869 million settlement with Freddie Mac to resolve repurchase claims on faulty loans sold to the government-backed firm before Jan. 1, 2009.

The fate of the Dodd-Frank Act's ban on banks trading for their own accounts — one of the final pieces of the U.S. effort to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis — may rest with a cluster of economists at the SEC.

Because third-party processors are on the hook for losses from fraudulent transactions, they have as much interest in eliminating bad actors as anyone.

WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators are considering tightening regulation of asset management firms that oversee trillions of dollars, according to a new report by the Office of Financial Research released Monday.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday issued its own proposed rule defining what constitutes a "qualified mortgage," that has two exceptions to the existing QM rule finalized earlier this year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Rep. Spencer Bachus, former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Monday that he will not seek reelection in 2014.

Regulators and financial firms must listen to each other and work together to protect the interests of customers and stakeholders. Only then, will they be able to build a safe and sound financial system.

The banking regulators will remain open in the event of a government shutdown, but the ongoing fiscal battle in Congress could still have significant implications for the financial services industry.

The state has reached a settlement with five payday lenders under which they would be prevented from collecting on certain loans and pay restitution to customers, Eric Schneiderman's office announced Monday.

The PCI council continues to expand its reach, with the intent of remaining a strong guide for data security well into the future.