Law and regulation

The troubled Metropolitan Bank Group in Chicago has been ordered by the Federal Reserve not to boost the pay of its directors or officers without the Fed's permission.

Regulators must "resist pressures to ring-fence national markets," said Mark Carney, chairman of the Financial Stability Board and future head of the Bank of England.

The burden on small banks from a new escrow rule for higher-priced mortgages should be relatively small, according to guidance released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has lifted a regulatory order from Macatawa Bank (MCBC) in Holland, Mich.

Possibly viewing Bitfloor, a popular Bitcoin exchange, as a risky money transmitting business, Capital One Financial Corp. has closed the exchange's bank account, prompting Bitfloor to halt operations. The incident may portend a growing wariness of businesses that handle virtual currencies.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's has decided that trust-only banks must first get FDIC insurance, a move that may drive greater interest in state trust charters and subject some parties to a federal freeze on nonfinancial firms owning limited-purpose banks.

Muhammad Yunus, the founder of nonprofit microlender Grameen Bank, received the Congressional Gold Medal this week, adding to his collection of awards that also include the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jeremy Stein said Friday that policymakers should consider reducing a bank's reliance on central bank lending to meet a liquidity requirement under Basel III.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, introduced legislation Friday to give the Securities and Exchange Commission the authority to impose and collect user fees from investment advisors.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, reports that there are more than fifty different "senior designations" that financial advisors are using to bring in older consumers into the business.

Legislative efforts to strengthen the nation's cyber defenses are shifting to the U.S. Senate after passage of a controversial bill by the House of Representatives.

Mutuals are evaluating proposed legislation that would create a new type of preferred stock and create a federal charter that allows for more commercial lending.

Freshman Rep. Keith Rothfus has been appointed to the House Financial Services Committee.

Spending several million dollars to beef up risk management processes would be an easy decision if it saved hundreds of millions in deposit assessments each year. Also, Camels should become Carmels.

The cost of being big is multiplying, and that's driving a wedge between the largest banks and the next tier.

The Senate Banking Committee testimony Thursday from Ed DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who said that the agency's ongoing efforts will be incomplete until Congress lays out a plan to bring the private sector back to the market.

California lawmakers have defeated a proposal aimed at reducing the size of the state's payday lending industry. A state Senate committee rejected the measure by a 5-3 vote Wednesday even after its author agreed to changes designed to soften the bill's impact.

Financial advisors are using too many different senior certifications to lure older consumers into business, according to a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jeremy Stein said regulators should not abandon the current reform agenda designed to eliminate "too big to fail."

Steve Antonakes, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Acting No.2, reassured executives at the American Bankers Association's government relations summit over the impending mortgage rules and the examinations that will follow.