Law and regulation

Federal regulators on Wednesday proposed aligning new securitization requirements with a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau underwriting rule in a move likely to please banks and housing advocates.

The Colorado Judicial Department warned residents of the state Tuesday to beware of collection phone scams after receiving reports that fake agencies are threatening consumers with arrest warrants.

The investor group that plans to recapitalize U.S. Century Bank in Doral, Fla., has reportedly revised its offer to give a larger stake to preexisting shareholders.

We need to secure a balance between literal enforcement of statistical conclusions and the actual intention of the bank and the real needs of underserved minority communities.

As the year end edges closer, the window is narrowing for policymakers to make 2013 memorable for banking legislation and rule-making. Following are predictions from Washington-based experts about what will transpire—and what won't—on the policy front before the arrival of 2014.

Regulators are widely expected Wednesday to unveil far less stringent standards than an earlier proposal for the "qualified residential mortgages" that are exempt from new risk-retention requirements for securitized loans.

An executive at Calvert Financial in Ashland, Mo., has admitted to using funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to buy a luxury condominium.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking at least $6 billion from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) to settle civil claims the bank sold bad mortgage bonds to government-backed finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to issue subpoenas to mortgage servicers to find out if borrowers in foreclosure are being overcharged by third-party vendors or paying for services that were not actually delivered.

A call to reassign GSE affordable housing goals to private securitizers ignores important changes in underwriting standards and the nature of federal mortgage guarantees in the conventional conforming market.

If regulators have concluded that the largest banks are "too big to manage," then let's confront that head-on. But let's not target a bank and drag it down piece by piece.

History tells us that post-crisis reforms should increase confidence, but still allow regulated entities to innovate and prosper, all in support of a stronger economy.

Bank of America's lawsuit against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. over $1.7 billion in investor losses was dismissed by a federal judge.

The Federal Reserve appeal of a judge's decision invalidating its interchange fee cap forestalls the prospect of a substantial cut in bank’s debit card revenue.

EverBank Financial has reached a $43 million settlement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in connection with allegations of improper foreclosure practices.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will continue discussions with the Bitcoin community after meeting with the Bitcoin Foundation and a host of regulators and law enforcement officers in Washington D.C. today.

Bankers and other lenders are pressing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to delay implementation of its "qualified mortgage" rule, but the agency has given no signal it will delay the Jan. 10 deadline.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau named new senior staff in four different divisions Monday.

Michael Coyne, co-head of litigation for JPMorgan Chase, will become general counsel at Union Bank. He is the latest senior executive to depart JPMorgan as its legal and regulatory troubles mount.

A Bitcoin trade group will meet today with the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and an array of law-enforcement officials and regulators to discuss oversight of the digital currency.