Law and regulation

Regulators are scrutinizing national banks' online and offshore relationships with payday lenders, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said Wednesday.

Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) in Los Angeles has repaid half the money it received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday said regulators would take additional steps to eliminate the problem of "too big to fail" if current efforts fall short.

Members of the House Financial Services Committee raised concerns Wednesday about the current business environment for small banks, pressing regulators about the lack of bank charters in recent years and the effect of new rules on the industry.

Regulators and academics are starting to look at low volatility as an integral part of the buildup toward financial meltdowns.

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, addressed the issue of consumers' lack of choice in a speech last month.

FDIC Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig reiterated his hope Wednesday for a big-bank breakup, and said ending the Transaction Account Guarantee program did not result in significant deposit transfers.

A former host of a Los Angeles-area radio show has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for running a scheme to defraud investors of millions dollars — including false statements to banks that received federal bailout funds.

Director Richard Cordray recently suggested that the actions of debt collectors, credit reporting agencies and mortgage servicers — and banks' ties to them — merit extra regulatory scrutiny because consumers are at their mercy.

Tough regulations, strict oversight and sophisticated analytics can all help, but they pale in comparison to a culture that actively embraces risk management rather than paying lip service to it.

Results suggests safety when there is none and diverts attention from the real need for structural reform.

Joon Park, a Virginia-based loan broker, pleaded guilty this week in Baltimore federal court to using fake documents to win $100 million in bank loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Visa Inc. would benefit from buying Visa Europe Ltd. because creating a single global business would outweigh regulatory risk, JPMorgan Chase & Co. says.

Abolish the public/private hybrid model of Fannie and Freddie, sell or liquidate their businesses, and privatize the mortgage market. This can be done in an orderly way in a few easy steps.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren plans to write a book about her experience in battling Wall Street over financial reform, according to remarks she made to the Boston Globe.

LNB Bancorp in Lorain, Ohio, has retired a large chunk of its bailout money by offering its owners common stock.

Several housing groups are urging lawmakers to stop using certain fee increases at government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offset unrelated spending.

Banks are going to have to work harder next year if they want to continue to pass the Federal Reserve Board's annual stress test exercise.

Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, all but begged lawmakers on Tuesday to begin the process of reforming the nation's housing finance system, saying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been in conservatorship for far too long.

The Senate Banking Committee continued to debate possible housing finance reform strategies at a hearing on Tuesday, including what kind of leadership is needed at FHFA.