Law and regulation

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Ever since Visa (NYSE: V) and MasterCard (MA) struck a $7.25 billion deal last summer to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit with retailers, many of the nation's largest merchants have been trying to wriggle free.

A bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., is drafting legislation designed to reform the housing finance system, including a plan to wind down the government-sponsored enterprises.

Unresolved issues surrounding American Airlines’ contract with Citibank, which issues its co-branded frequent flier credit card, threaten to derail the bankrupt airline’s efforts to reorganize and merge with US Airways, according to court documents Citi filed on May 24.

Banks that have been proactive in anticipating the regulatory winds might have little to fear from the rules, but others that have been slow to adapt could be forced to make significant changes that could crimp profits.

A super PAC supporting Sen. David Vitter, R-La., is sponsoring a $5,000-per-person weekend with the lawmaker that includes an alligator hunt.

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

Banks have been blaming one another for recklessly chasing business loans. Data on portfolio yields and growth offers perspective on which ones are being the most aggressive.

Palisades Collection, based in New Jersey, is under review by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs, which has received 96 complaints against the agency since 2004.

American Banker editors discuss the prospects for reducing the roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in housing finance and the obstacles a pullback would face.

Talbot Bank in Easton, Md., has signed a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and its state regulator, effective Friday.

The most challenging and frustrating aspect of the Single Euro Payments Area project, according to a major German acquirer, is its goal of establishing common payment standards throughout Europe.

Bankers Bank Northeast in Glastonbury, Conn., has hired a former Home Loan bank executive to be its next chief.

Two members of the House Financial Services Committee have been given new subcommittee assignments, the panel announced Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The Conference of State Bank Supervisors named Charles A. Vice, the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, as the group’s chairman this week.

A new report from the Federal Reserve on debit card swipe fees suggests that the 2011 law that capped fees large banks could charge is not crimping revenues at smaller institutions, echoing earlier findings by the Federal Trade Commission.

Target Corp., Macy’s Inc. and other companies sued Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. over credit-card and debit-card fees after retailers objected to a multibillion-dollar settlement of a similar suit.

Penny Pritzker defended her role in the 2001 failure of Superior Bank on Thursday, insisting that she had only tried to "salvage the situation."

Henry Holt & Co. announced a deal with Elizabeth Warren for her account of founding the CFPB, her Massachusetts Senate race and advocacy for the middle class.

With a litany of bipartisan reasons to oppose FATCA, ranging from privacy and sovereignty to U.S. economic competitiveness, it is startling that the legislation has advanced as far as it has.