Law and regulation

Viewed through the framework provided by the economist Nassim Taleb, a centrally directed financial system with uniform risk management and prescribed products is fragile.

The Federal Trade Commission is refunding more than $107,000 to Spanish-speaking consumers who lost money to Dinamica Financiera LLC, a company that sold bogus mortgage loan modifications or foreclosure relief services.

WASHINGTON — State regulators in Arizona closed the $45 million-asset Gold Canyon Bank late Friday, the fifth bank failure this year.

A former executive at the defunct Appalachian Community Bank in Ellijay, Ga., was sentenced to prison Friday for running a fraudulent loan scheme.

The Fed, FDIC and OCC have so far given no indication of developing a public complaint database like the one managed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but that could soon change.

A draft bill by Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, would scrap pending Basel III requirements and instead impose a higher capital standard: 10% for all banks and an additional surcharge of 5% for institutions with more than $400 billion of assets.

Bank of America Corp.'s $2.4 billion settlement with investors who lost money as a result of the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. was approved by a federal judge.

Regulators have lifted an enforcement action against a unit of First Financial Northwest (FFNW) in Renton, Wash.

The United States has long resisted adopting the EMV smart-card standard to replace magnetic-stripe credit and debit cards. But the card networks report success in the years-long push to modernize plastic payments.

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If regulators have the will and the authority to resolve "too big to fail," now is the time to act. The prospect of several more years without resolution is terrifying.

The Bipartisan Policy Center released a report Thursday giving fodder to both sides in the political debate over the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement actions against four of the nation's largest mortgage insurers is only the beginning as the agency will probe an alleged widespread mortgage insurance kickback scheme that involves several lenders.

The JOBS Act will allow broader marketing of private placements. Take great care when selling these to your bank's financial advisory and wealth management clients. Focus on what suits them.

Federal Reserve vice chair Janet Yellen criticized the aborted independent foreclosure reviews on Thursday, condemning the expenses of consultants involved in a process that the Fed helped set up.

WASHINGTON — A Senate Banking subcommittee will examine the role of independent consultants in the financial services industry, including Promontory Financial Group, at a hearing next week.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke called on business and finance students and faculty on Thursday to make improving the public's financial literacy a priority in their careers.

Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's inspector general are taking a hard look at the bills the government mortgage giant receives from servicers who maintain foreclosed properties. If controls are found to be lax, servicers will likely face a clampdown.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced enforcement orders against four mortgage insurance firms that allegedly provided kickbacks to lenders, but the agency signaled additional actions are in the offing.

A think tank examines what's happened to the nominees for top jobs at financial regulators under both President Bush and President Obama.