Law and regulation

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has named former U.S. Senator Judd Gregg its new chief executive.

Tim Pawlenty, the CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been forging a "constructive" relationship with the banking industry, especially as it dealt with qualified mortgage and remittance rules.

Know-your-customer, an essential precaution, must be coupled with know-your-employees. A host of instances highlight the involvement of employees in fraudulent transactions – in most cases in league with customers.

The timing couldn’t be better for the new advisory board of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council to include several European voices.

Crypto Street, a startup that’s building a platform for trading digital currencies like Bitcoin, is making a point of forging relationships with multiple banks after similar businesses suddenly lost their bank accounts and folded or scaled back.

Last month Richard Cordray argued that payday lenders charge exorbitant fees and often trap consumers in a cycle of debt.

The CFPB's revised final rule on remittances made it easier on bankers, but it will still have a significant — though unclear — impact on international money transfers.

The House passed a controversial bill on Friday requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct additional economic analysis on its rules.

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

Washington Post blog tries giving clarity around who used the analogy in a point about Japanese monetary policy. It was likely not Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Rep. Mel Watt drew a lot of attention Wednesday when he questioned Attorney General Eric Holder at a House Judiciary Committee hearing with his grandson Nico in his lap.

The regulator of federal credit unions is promising to take steps to curtail high-cost, short-term loans, in the wake of tough action by banking regulators.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency took regulatory action against 11 financial institutions and terminated orders against five others in April, the agency said Friday.

In a sign of renewed pressure on mortgage servicers, a number of big banks have ceased or dramatically slowed the final step in the foreclosure process.

Risks posed by the shadow banking system, the need for regulators to work through disagreements and housing reform were among the key concerns among top financial policymakers gathered at the Federal Reserve's annual conference in Chicago last week.

The return to profitability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is not a reason to preserve them as part of a future housing finance system.

The Federal Reserve announced an enforcement action against the Bank of Montreal and BMO Financial for "deficiencies" in compliance with anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act rules and regulations.

For two years, Democrats and Republicans have been at an impasse over the nomination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Director Richard Cordray, and next week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is once again calling up the long-awaited confirmation vote.

Loan performance data show the entire case against GSE underwriting standards, and their role in the financial crisis, is based on social stereotyping, smoke and mirrors, and little else.

Little Rock, Arkansas and Oakland, California objected to a multibillion-dollar settlement of a price-fixing case against Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. over the fees charged to merchants to process credit-card transactions.