Law and regulation

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.

David Stevens, president and chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association, highlighted several critiques of the CFPB's final QM rule during a speech on Wednesday.

Lending by bankers to business and consumers remained steady over the most recent quarter, while some districts reported stronger demand for loans than others.

The FDIC's point man on resolution planning says early submitters took the effort "seriously," but says process is still in early stages.

Examiners are starting to ask community banks for explain how their technology and staffing are prepared to handle disaster recovery.

In an interview, Morris Morgan, the federal government's point man for the painstaking review of 3.8 million mortgage loans, provided new details about the $8.5 billion deal regulators cut with 10 servicers last week and how it almost fell apart during negotiations.

After seven years at post, Sandra Thompson will step down from her position as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s supervision chief.