Law and regulation

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.

The Department of Justice has agreed to a settlement with a pair of Cincinnati banks accused of redlining African-American neighborhoods in four cities in Ohio and Indiana.

John Kanas, who will step down Jan. 1 as chief executive officer at Miami Lakes, Fla.-based BankUnited, reportedly discussed a possible role in the incoming Trump administration with members of the president-elect's transition team.

Banks' ethical and regulatory missteps have been a source of consternation for regulators and the general public since the 2008 financial crisis. So how can the Trump administration balance accountability with its promises of low regulation and high growth?

The New York State Department of Financial Services has modified its cybersecurity rule after bankers registered complaints at a hearing in Albany last week.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faces a precarious and uncertain future in 2017 with all eyes focused on two questions: whether President-elect Donald Trump will attempt to fire agency director Richard Cordray and if Congress can successfully restructure the agency by changing its leadership and funding.