Law and regulation

Risk management issues, fair lending infractions, money laundering violations and civil money penalties will remain on regulators’ radars in 2013.

Homeowners with underwater mortgages worst-hit by foreclosures are leading refinancings after the government expanded programs like the Home Affordable Refinance Program to aid borrowers, strengthening the weakest link in the housing recovery.

Staffing, policies and vendor relationships will draw scrutiny as community banks look for new ways to make money.

A shareholder lawsuit alleges current and former VeriFone executives made false and misleading statements about the company's financial performance to artificially inflate the stock price—duping unsuspecting investors and allowing executives to cash in millions of dollars' worth of stock.

At an industry conference Tuesday, the consumer bureau's second-in-command fielded questions on the pace of its work, the experience of its examiners, and whether it is putting an unfair burden on large banks.

Although lawmakers were ostensibly there to discuss the nominations to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the debate over "too big to jail" continued to dominate a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Sen. Bob Corker raised concerns Tuesday about whether the Financial Stability Oversight Council could unwind a healthy bank solely due to concerns about whether the institution is "too big to fail."

The House passed a bill by voice vote Tuesday evening that would allow banks to opt out from sending unchanged annual privacy notices to customers, a measure the chamber previously passed during the lame duck session last year.

Lawmakers are looking into removing the roadblock that currently exists in California for mobile-pay startups that either can't afford the compliance costs for state licensing or define themselves as Web-based marketplaces, rather than true money transmitters.

It was very busy in Washington last week, but the item that produced the most news in the banking world wasn't even on the radar. Attorney General Eric Holder was supposed to talk about drones, but he also made a surprising admission with far-reaching consequences.

Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan, released Tuesday, renews attacks on the Dodd-Frank reform law and government housing policy.

An industry lawyer predicts enforcement actions against banks that allowed automatic withdrawals against their customers' expressed wishes.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House banking panel, is asking whether the Fed can lawfully transfer funds to the CFPB if the agency is without a director.

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., are asking Attorney General Eric Holder to clarify his surprising remarks last week about whether some institutions are too big to prosecute.

Reform efforts could result in a much smaller scope of permissible lending at the FHA, with a renewed focus on its traditional core of low-income customers, higher credit score requirements and increased down payments.

The most notable quotes from American Banker stories of the previous week. Readers are encouraged to add their own observations in the Comments fields at the bottom of each slide.

Attorney General Eric Holder's admission that some banks are effectively "too big to jail" continues to reverberate throughout the banking world, spurring a push-back from industry representatives and concern from House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling.

The Comptroller of the Currency wants banks to hold more capital against mortgages in warehouse lending facilities, but small banks complain it could cripple a vital business.

Doug Bergeron will step down from his roles as CEO and a board member at VeriFone, effective March 12, the point of sale terminal maker said today.

Despite Republican claims to the contrary, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is accountable to lawmakers and the American public, Director Richard Cordray is expected to tell the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.