Law and regulation

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.

Republicans continue to call for the CFPB to adopt a five-person board instead of having a single director. Similar calls are almost never heard regarding the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-S.D., released the panel's agenda for the 113th Congress on Tuesday. Among many of the issues unveiled was an emphasis on continued oversight of the Dodd-Frank reform law.

Republicans continue to call for the CFPB to adopt a five-person board instead of having a single director, but similar calls are almost never heard regarding the OCC.

Individuals who blew the whistle on a mortgage fraud scheme that cost JPMorgan Chase $296 million in fines have three months to prove that their information helped lead to the settlement.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created under the 2010 Dodd-Frank reform law, will require some mortgage servicers to develop general plans for avoiding complications arising from the transfer of servicing rights.

Sen. Tim Johnson, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, laid out his plans for the 113th Congress, including opening the door to changes of Dodd-Frank if there is a bipartisan consensus.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Tuesday morning to discuss the FHA's fiscal woes.