Law and regulation

The current single-director leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not a recipe for transparency and accountability. Creating a multimember commission to oversee the agency is the answer.

The bank formerly run by Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the Treasury Department, allegedly used illegal practices in foreclosing on delinquent homeowners, according to a leaked 2013 memo from the California Attorney General's Office.

Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin has declined to answer questions from a Democratic senator about his views on financial regulations, sanctions and his time as head of a bank accused of unfair foreclosure practices.

The Senate Banking Committee will have six fresh faces in the new Congress as Republicans grapple with a slimmer majority.

In an enforcement action totaling more than $23 million in fines and restitution, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that TransUnion and Equifax – two of the largest consumer credit reporting agencies – had misled consumers on the value of the data they marketed.

Both banks and fintech firms have a lot of questions about the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposed new charter, including exactly how the agency will ensure nonbanks don't get a leg up on bank competitors.

OptimumBank in Plantation, Fla., has been hit with an enforcement action due to concerns about its asset quality, capital position, compliance with anti-money-laundering regulations and other issues.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's decision to offer a special-purpose charter for fintech firms may entice more players than expected, including mortgage lenders and even some payday lending shops.

From the industry repercussions of Trump's election victory to the rise of the robots in financial services, these are American Banker's most popular stories of 2016.

Proponents of "recap and release" misread the political risks and the depth of interest that key lawmakers have in determining the long-term future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A group of central bankers has postponed its planned meeting to review the details of the final capital and governance standards outlined in the Basel III accords, offering little explanation except that "more time is needed" to complete the rules.

As you plan for the coming year — and beyond — here are some challenges and opportunities worth thinking about.

From Dimon's campaign against earnings guidance to the bottom-line implications of rising rates, here are more of our favorite stories of the year. (See part I here.)

The new year is shaping up to be the one in which sizable changes to the Dodd-Frank Act are finally enacted, thanks to Republican victories in the White House, Senate and House.

The Rural Housing Service is expanding its manufactured housing loan guarantee program to include more refinancings of used or existing manufactured homes.

Businesses, governments, universities and the Federal Reserve all struggle to adequately reflect the populations they serve. It's time to take ownership of diversity outcomes.

The commercial-and-industrial loan space is overheated, higher rates could stifle mortgage refinancings, and subprime auto delinquencies are on the rise. Bankers could be fighting these fires and more in the new year.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency is making it easier for Federal Home Loan banks to expand the kinds of collateral they can accept for advances.

If companies like Amazon, Apple and Google enter in force the battle between banks and fintech firms over customers' personal data, it could tip the scales against the banking industry.

The industry doesn't want to attack the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau directly, but its push to reform the agency's leadership structure is a backdoor strike at the CFPB's very existence.