Law and regulation

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, tried to calm community bankers' fears on Wednesday by telling them not to be concerned over the new mortgage rules issued by the agency. The CFPB's new mortgage rules will take effect next year.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren argued that Republicans opposing Richard Cordray's nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is only meant to undercut the agency's work.

VeriFone's stock price recovered slightly upon CEO Bergeron's resignation, signaling investor interest, and competitor Pax Technology was quick to draw attention to recent speculation that VeriFone would be for sale.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit against two businesses that failed to deliver on promises to provide loan modification and mortgage relief to homeowners.

Political and public outcry against "too big fail" has certainly grown in the last few months. Do large financial institutions need to fear a breakup?

A bipartisan group of four Senate Banking Committee members, including Elizabeth Warren and Bob Corker, have introduced legislation designed to spur reform of the government-sponsored enterprises.

The Federal Reserve Board has terminated a written agreement with Mountain West Financial (MTWF) in Helena, Mont.

The economy is well served by banks of all sizes, and the forced breakup of the biggest institutions would be misguided, says Zions Bancorp. Chief Executive Harris Simmons.

Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry acknowledged Thursday that his office needs to better cater to community banks, including improving their communication with local examiners.

The anger against the country's biggest banks is ready to boil over, Harris Simmons, the chairman and chief executive of Zions Bancorp., warned Wednesday.

Megabanks may be able to fight off regulatory forces demanding their corporate downsizing, but a voluntary breakup may be the only way to sway public opinion their way.

Elizabeth Warren, the consumer advocate turned senator, reiterated her call on lawmakers to vote on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray.

Canada is well ahead of the U.S. in its adoption of the EMV chip-card standard. That places BMO's Kevin Tait in a bit of a time warp, since a large part of BMO's corporate payments operations are in the U.S.

The Federal Trade Commission is recommending mobile phone carriers let consumers block the ability to charge payments directly to their phone bills and take other measures to provide more transparency in mobile carrier bill transactions.

The Office of Financial Research is seen as dark and mysterious by some, but its new director says it's focused on working collaboratively with other agencies and developing new metrics that can help it see systemic threats in real-time.

President Obama gathered chief executives from energy, finance and technology companies to emphasize the threat posed by criminal and state-sponsored hackers, which the administration regards as one of the nation's main security challenges.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee is drafting a bill to address ongoing concerns with a series of cross-border swaps provisions.

Impersonators of Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin (oddly) captured the sense of renewal at the ICBA conference in Las Vegas.

Citigroup can omit from its annual meeting a question for shareholders that would require the lender to explore breaking up, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer, a senior member on the House Financial Services Committee, discusses his priorities for FHA reform, despite ongoing partisan bickering.