Law and regulation

The attorneys general of eight states are requesting to join a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the Dodd-Frank Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson and Sen. Mike Crapo, the top panel republican, wrote to regulators on Wednesday urging them to weigh concerns by community bankers on pending Basel III capital and liquidity rules.

Citizens First (CZFC) in Bowling Green, Ky., is nearly two-thirds of the way to exiting the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., the world’s biggest payment networks, won dismissal of a price- fixing lawsuit brought by a group representing operators of automated teller machines.

At a press conference protesting Republicans' refusal to confirm a director of the CFPB, Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats said they have no intention of making structural changes to the agency in order to meet GOP demands.

Republican lawmakers sharply questioned Treasury Secretary nominee Jack Lew on Wednesday, asking him to detail his role at Citigroup in the lead-up to the financial crisis and his views on a range of banking issues.

The Federal Trade Commission's annual letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlines Fair Debt Collection Practices Act cases pursued in the past year.

The Federal Housing Administration commissioner faced a barrage of questions from lawmakers on the agency's fiscal health and downplayed fears that it will need a Treasury bailout.

Comptroller Thomas Curry argued Wednesday that regulators had no choice but to halt the independent foreclosure review process in favor of faster payouts to affected borrowers. He also provided new details on how payments would proceed.

CoBank in Denver is giving $5 million to fund agricultural research and education at land grant universities nationwide.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to work with the mortgage industry throughout the year to help lenders comply with the new rules by the 2014 deadline.

Due to continuing struggles within global economies, the interconnected financial framework requires higher levels of capital, liquidity and investments in assets that can objectively be considered safe.

The banking industry and outside observers weighed in Wednesday on a White House order that aims to bolster protection of the nation's critical infrastructure against cyberattack.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching a yearlong plan to help lenders comply with the onslaught of mortgage rules by the 2014 deadline.

Carol Galante, the head of the Federal Housing Administration, downplayed a coming budget estimate that is expected to show the agency will need taxpayer aid for the first time since it was founded in the 1930s.

Lawmakers were sharply divided on President Obama's brief remarks regarding the housing market during his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

The White House issued an executive order on Tuesday that aims to strengthen protection of the nation's critical infrastructure against cyberattack.

In a speech largely devoted to other issues, President Obama reiterated his call for a bill to help struggling borrowers refinance their mortgages.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposed steps Tuesday that could open the door to U.S. banks satisfying a United Kingdom mandate to treat foreign and domestic depositors more equitably.

All 12 Federal Reserve Bank presidents on Tuesday endorsed efforts by regulators to reform the $2.9 trillion money market mutual fund industry.