Law and regulation

National Mortgage Insurance Co., a new company based in Emeryville, Calif., announced Thursday that Fannie and Freddie have granted it approval as an eligible mortgage insurer.

One week after American Express Co. announced that its fourth-quarter earnings fell sharply from a year earlier, the company filled in more details Thursday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new mortgage servicing rules may force some servicers to exit the business altogether or simply outsource servicing of defaulted loans to third-parties, experts said Thursday.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown wrote a letter to regulators Thursday, arguing that "breaking the law should not be a business expense."

Piggyback litigation often follows regulatory actions, and the laws under the CFPB's jurisdiction all but invite follow-on private lawsuits. A huge number of companies may be exposed.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is all about money — but increasingly, the question is whether it's about protecting money or making money.

Citigroup's disappointing fourth-quarter report included an unexpected $500 million legal reserve related to its U.S. consumer businesses, as the CFPB reviews the bank's card products.

Shareholders, Congress and federal banking regulators are demanding greater accountability from executives and boards for risk management lapses. States ought to rise with the tide.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was set to unleash an additional series of rules Thursday dictating how mortgage servicers interact with homeowners. The mandates are likely to come as highly unwelcome news to the industry.

Mary Jo White, the former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, is under consideration to become the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Strip nonbank broker-dealers of their ties to the banking system, and the market will demand stronger capital and safer asset growth from these firms, making their failures less systemically dangerous.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a set of new rules Thursday that detail additional requirements for mortgage servicing. Like the QM rule, the new servicing rules will be effective Jan. 10, 2014.

A top Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. official said late Tuesday that the initial phase of large firms preparing wind down plans has been a "positive first step."

Taking money from available funds to reserve against "Too Big to Fail" may save the banks, but put the countries and their economies into recession.

Just a week after overhauling how mortgages are underwritten, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was set Thursday to unleash an additional series of rules dictating extensive new requirements for mortgage servicing.

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher took his fight against Too Big to Fail one step further Wednesday night, laying out his plans for dismantling the industry's giants.

State and federal authorities are taking a hard look at how banks collect consumer debts. A multi-billion dollar market may be remade through tighter rules or enforcement actions.

No, the standards weren't "watered down," media hype notwithstanding. But the Basel Committee is considering a complete pass for banks with government lifelines. This would enshrine "too big to fail."

Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) will pay a combined $557 million to settle allegations they mishandled foreclosures that followed the housing crisis.

Cost control will sharpen further in 2013, given continued pressure from low interest rates and loan competition, U.S. Bancorp says. Other banks will face similar challenges.