Law and regulation

A former leader of a Mormon congregation in Connecticut has pleaded guilty to charges he laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars through a bank that received funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Banks, already way long on deposits, will end up paying even lower rates as funds flood in if money market mutual funds are forced to use floating net asset values.

Capital One (COF) is expanding its board of directors with the addition of two banking industry veterans, including a former top official of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Recovering home prices have helped shrink underwater home equity loans, but such uncollateralized assets are still large when measured against Tier 1 common equity at the Big Four banks.

Consumers are still at risk from small-dollar loans with high fees or that roll-over debt, an advisory council warned the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday.

A regulatory plan that changes how banks must account for holdings on their books is stirring anxiety in the financial services industry that it may force banks to make a premature decision about what they intend to do with an asset.

M&T Bank (MTB) in Buffalo has hired a former member of Congress to help it strengthen its relationships with government officials.

More regional and community banks have selling noncumulative perpetual preferred stock to bolster Tier 1 capital and fund expansion.

If the FSOC fails to get the SEC to adopt new standards, it could look weak. If it succeeds, this mechanism will be used more often. Either way, the intervention is likely to sow division among regulators.

In 2012, identity fraud incidents increased by more than one million victims. Fraudsters stole more than $21 billion overall—the highest amount in three years, according to Javelin Strategy & Research.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received its second warning for unclear and inefficient supervision from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

A small Texas bank has agreed to pay $700,000 to settle allegations that it discriminated against Hispanic borrowers by charging them higher prices on unsecured consumer loans.

Properly measured and appropriately set capital levels have a long way to go before becoming excessive.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits soared in January to 153, up 82% from 84 in the year-ago period and up 24.4% from 123 a month earlier, according to WebRecon LLC, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company.

The architect of an operation that allegedly distributed illegal robocalls offering credit card interest rate reductions is banned from telemarketing under a settlement with regulators.

Karen Shaw Petrou, a top financial analyst, is calling for the U.S Trade Representative to work with the banking agencies to help establish an international framework for financial regulation. If not, she fears countries will adopt increasingly protectionist policies.

The Federal Reserve Board has lifted an enforcement action against Central Pacific Financial in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Rep. Maxine Waters has asked regulators for additional information regarding the work some consultants did as part of the troubled independent foreclosure review process.

Attendees at this year's American Bankers Association conference for community banks want to exude confidence but worries over proposed capital requirements still have them spooked.

Coinbase makes it simple to buy and sell bitcoins via a bank account, but plays only to the low-fee, frictionless nature of Bitcoin and fails to leverage its unique privacy aspects.