Law and regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau appears close to clamping down on fees on account overdrafts and payday loans. That's left some observers fearful low-income consumers will end up losing access to financial services many count on to make ends meet.

Insurers and brokerages have myriad reasons for setting up bank subsidiaries, including lower funding costs and a broader array of customer services. But increased regulatory scrutiny is prompting many to change their thinking. Here's a look at nonbanks that have or are looking to shed bank charters, citing the cost and time commitment related to complying with the Dodd-Frank Act and other obligations.

With the government cracking down on digital currency players such as Liberty Reserve and Mt. Gox, many ask whether it's a move to squash the development of virtual currencies and what action the government will take next.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council voted to identify an initial group of nonbank firms as potential threats to financial stability. Under the Dodd-Frank reform law, the FSOC has the responsibility to name several nonbank financial companies as systemically risky.

Even if Congress passes a comprehensive reform bill, many immigrants eligible for citizenship may never apply because they can't afford the application and legal fees. Banks should loan them the money, activists say.

Fidelity Southern (LION) in Atlanta is planning to raise $60 million in a public offering and use the proceeds, along with cash on hand, to exit the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Banks are increasingly competing with nonbanks to develop products for low-income and underserved customers. Here are the crucial questions they need to ask about regulation, technology and the competitive landscape.

Let’s be cautious about scrapping the Camels rating system without fully understanding why it supposedly failed. Any human endeavor is prone to failure, as any system is subject to improvement.

President Obama's moves to rein in patent litigation should ease the squabbling over intellectual property that's hampered innovation in payments and should also reduce banks' legal costs.

President Obama's moves to rein in patent litigation should ease the squabbling over intellectual property that's hampered innovation in payments and should also reduce banks' legal costs.

A Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. rule defines what constitutes a "financial" company that could be wound down by the new resolution facility for behemoths.

The U.S. revival in collateralized loan obligations had spread to Europe -- until an American-style fight over how much "skin in the game" should be kept by CLO managers crept across the pond, too.

The trend is decidedly away from shared roles and to a separation of the board from management.

Discover Financial Services said earnings per share will be reduced this quarter after it had to acquire some businesses in Europe and regulators revoked the license of a Slovenian franchise.

The banking panel's top Republican said Tuesday that he hopes the committee will begin debate on overhauling the housing finance system this fall.

A group of small businesses filed a lawsuit challenging New York's law prohibiting merchants from imposing surcharges to make up for the fees they must remit when customers pay with a credit card.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released exam guidance on Tuesday that details how it plans to enforce its recently released mortgage regulations.

If federal regulators do not get the bulk of Dodd-Frank's provisions in place by the end of 2014, Congress is likely to take another, tougher whack at reform. It will make the 2010 law look tame by comparison.

As EMV-chip cards spread, with most U.S. merchants expected to accept the card by October 2015, there is still a major hurdle to overcome as consumers either resist the change or remain oblivious to it.

Brown-Vitter is a welcome display of bipartisanship. But its proposed solution to “too big to fail,” equity capital, is only marginally effective in imposing discipline on management.