Law and regulation

Standard Chartered has been forced to retract comments by its chairman that the U.K. bank's laundering of hundreds of billions of dollars on behalf of Iran was inadvertent.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's annual report to Congress outlined key developments related to the department taking over primary collection agency enforcement duties from the Federal Trade Commission.

Freddie Mac and its regulator must do more to ensure loan servicers properly respond to complaints over handling of mortgages held or guaranteed by the U.S.-owned company, according to a government watchdog's audit report.

To settle a New York state probe of alleged collusion and price gouging by banks and insurers, the country's largest force-placed insurance company will lower its rates and cease making payments to banks.

A judge in New Jersey limited Spencer Savings Bank's ability to control the process for director nominations.

Money was never meant to be a method of supranational identity tracking. Its use in that way could signal law enforcement desperation. When all other tactics fail, surveil the finances.

In a little-noticed speech last month, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray laid out a new, unified way of thinking about several of the hot-button issues the agency is currently tackling.

Lawmakers and banking regulators are showing irrational exuberance, says risk management expert and veteran banker Richard J. Parsons.

Quiet financial markets permit greater leverage and risk taking, helping lower volatility further — until a large shock arrives. Then, hold on to your hats… Plus: Fed raises bar on stress tests; why the exercise is an opportunity for banks.

To calm anger about "too big to fail," bankers should support repeal of Title II of Dodd-Frank and support the nomination of Richard Cordray to lead the CFPB.

WASHINGTON — Trading revenues in the fourth quarter hit a record high despite being down from the previous quarter due to seasonal trends, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

A push is on in Congress to reinstate a program that allowed small businesses to refinance commercial mortgages using government-backed funds.

Reps. Maxine Waters, Carolyn Maloney and 44 other lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday to address numerous concerns about overdraft fees.

The House Agriculture Committee passed a bill by unanimous voice vote on Wednesday to address ongoing concerns with the implementation of certain derivatives rules under the Dodd-Frank reform law.

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.