Law and regulation

You would be forgiven in thinking the OCC has been solely preoccupied with JPMorgan Chase in recent days, but the agency has disciplined three other national banks since late August, according to its monthly roundup of enforcement actions.

JPMorgan Chase will be charged by federal prosecutors in California in connection with sales of mortgage-backed securities, a person familiar with the matter said.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg tells audience at American Banker's Regulatory Symposium of need for "complementary" relationship between leverage and risk-based capital ratios.

Regulators slapped Toronto-Dominion Bank's main U.S. unit with more than $52 million in fines for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and securities laws in relation to a Ponzi scheme in Florida.

Despite Basel III's shortcomings, I have yet to hear of a better solution than combining risk-weighted assets with a strong leverage ratio. Both require uniform guidelines for banks and disclosure.

Panelists at American Banker's Regulatory Symposium will discuss a federal proposal addressing how banks should develop risk management policies for their use of social media.

There’s no question that that banking industry owes a solid to government policymakers for bailing them out of the crisis. What’s still much in dispute is whether the Dodd-Frank Act and the various other salves that have been applied to stave off another calamity will work as intended.

The idea that skin in the game is the best way to ensure that people take responsibility for their professional conduct harks back to ancient Babylon. Black Swan author Nassim Taleb calls it "the best risk management rule ever." American Banker editors discuss whether skin in the game is the elixir needed to make modern finance safe or is destined to lose favor as fast as stock options and Alan Greenspan.

Moving to an expected-loss framework would be a step in the right direction but entails a great deal of subjectivity, model risk and confusion for investors trying to compare institutions.

In order to prevent cyber attacks and keep the financial system safe, banks have to understand the key threats to the industry. We asked two top banking regulators what they're worried about right now.

Regulators have designated Prudential Financial Inc. as a risk to the financial system. The Newark, N.J.-based company is the third nonbank firm given the SIFI label.

A study by The Clearing House Association found that a proposed leverage ratio would force banks to raise $200 billion in capital or shed roughly $3.7 trillion in assets. The study also found that the leverage ratio would be a binding capital rule for two-thirds of big-bank assets.

Massachusetts is conducting an independent investigation of JPMorgan Chase's debt collection practices, a source told The Wall Street Journal.

NewBridge Bancorp (NBBC) in Greensboro, N.C., has received regulatory approval to buy struggling mutual Security Savings Bank in Southport, N.C.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is facing accusations that it is forcing banks to cut ties with online payday lenders, but the agency says it is only urging banks to be on guard about merchant relationships that elevate their risk.

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

Big bank executives in New York need to visit the heartland and get in touch with Main Street to cure lingering public resentment, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Daniel Tarullo said Friday that short-term wholesale funding sill poses a risk to the largest banks and that fixing such "structural vulnerabilities" is a top priority to protect the financial system.

A Small Business Administration program intended to give veteran-owned companies easier access to loans has come under fire for high default rates that have cost taxpayers over $31 million.

The Federal Reserve's rules for debit-card transaction fees and processing will remain in place while the central bank appeals a decision throwing out the regulations, a judge said.