Law and regulation

The new numbers add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that the U.S. housing sector is slowly rebounding.

The U.S. government is resisting an effort by Standard & Poor's to move to the federal level a string of lawsuits by states that charge the ratings agency with misleading investors.

Concerns about bank size and interconnectedness have reached a fever pitch lately for a number of reasons. Here's why.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took enforcement actions against four banks last month tied to inadequate capital, compliance shortcomings and other matters, according to a series of orders released Friday.

Calls for reciprocity and a lack of participation from Asian-Pacific countries present significant challenges for the overreaching legislation.

Following the expansion of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint database, officials are wondering if the now public information will help or hurt banks.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which appoints a chairperson on a rotating basis, named Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry to a two-year term.

William B. Harrison, Jr., the former Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase and an outspoken advocate for large banks, says a big bank breakup won't happen — but admits that he's surprised by how much support there is for the idea.

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office reached an agreement with a Hutchinson, Kan.-based collection agency that requires the collector to stop trying to collect on illegal payday loan debt in the state.

Like the bankers who hope to open shop in Lancaster, Pa., startups need underserved niches to sway regulators to unfreeze new-bank activity.

Regulators reviewing AML rules could learn a thing or two from mall cops, says McGladrey’s Tyrone Beasley.

Fannie Mae executives are due this week to release the company's earnings report for the last quarter of 2012, a filing delayed by an unanticipated problem: The Washington-based mortgage financier is making money and expects to remain steadily profitable.

As the U.S. adopts the EMV smart-card standard, banks must address their own needs, such as replacing the transaction switch of their payment routing systems, according to Acquirer Systems of Dublin, Ireland.

Human enterprise is powered by financial resources and expertise. Banks truly can help people in all walks of life accomplish what they set out to do.

Public frustration has been mounting over the lack of high-profile criminal prosecutions in the wake of the financial crisis here in the U.S. But the same cannot be said abroad. Take Iceland, for example.

William Harrison, Jr., the former Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase and an outspoken defender of large banks, says forced breakups are not in the cards.

State regulators in Colorado have filed fraud charges against the former chief executive of Bank of Choice.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's expanded complaint database is leading to better response times, but the reputational risk of publicizing disputes is causing concerns.

Limiting the number of overdraft fees could cause consumers to miss important payments, be denied necessities and wind up with negative information on their credit reports.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday a massive expansion of its consumer complaint database. It will be nearly 5 times larger, making it the biggest public collection of financial consumer complaints submitted to a federal regulator.