Law and regulation

An activist investor group has threatened to file a lawsuit against Orrstown Financial Services (ORRF) unless the Shippensburg, Pa., company makes certain changes to its bylaws.

Only one day after Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke announced that regulators are close to finalizing the Volcker Rule, House Republicans continue their attack.

Bank regulators have lifted a memorandum of understanding against Timberland Bank nearly three years after the bank was hit with the enforcement action.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposal which would allow banks to test different disclosure programs on consumers. The testing would make disclosures more succinct and cost-effective.

Majority Leader Harry Reid's proposed two-year extension of the Transaction Account Guarantee has been put to a stop.

Comedian Stephen Colbert singled out Jamie Dimon and his bank as "the dopest financial services institution around" for its support of a concert benefiting Hurricane Sandy victims.

In an appearance on former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's TV show, Rolling Stone columnist Matt Taibbi and his host were outraged that HSBC did not face criminal prosecution after the government said it allegedly helped drug dealers and terrorists launder money.

Jeffersonville Bancorp (JFBC) is set to become the latest New York company to exchange the federal charter of its bank for oversight by a state regulator.

The holding company for AmericanWest Bank in Spokane, Wash., has agreed to repay what PremierWest Bancorp (PRWT) owes the Troubled Asset Relief Program before the banks merge.

QBE's concession, made amid scrutiny of its relationship with major banks, would save investors and homeowners in the state $98 million a year. Part of that money would come from reducing the commissions it pays to banks.

A U.S. district court has temporarily halted a debt relief operation that allegedly charged consumers hundreds of dollars based on claims that it could obtain rates as low as zero percent.

The Transaction Account Guarantee program ran into trouble, a columnist warned of innovation's risk to banks and JPM's Jamie Dimon took to the spotlight.

Banks might have more success winning over underbanked consumers if they lowered initial deposit requirements and offered banking services to noncustomers, according to a new report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

A battle over Senate procedures and the FDIC's absence from the debate were viewed as contributing to blocking a bill to extend the TAG program.

"Consumers disputed up to 38 million items on their consumer credit reports last year at the three largest consumer reporting agencies, according to a report released Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," writes American Banker's Rachel Witkowski.

According to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, regulators are close to completing the Volcker Rule that will ban proprietary trading at U.S. firms.

House Republicans continued their attacks on the Volcker Rule on Thursday, arguing it was unnecessary and overly complex just a day after Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled regulators were close to finalizing it.

The National Credit Union Administration showed strong improvement in an employee satisfaction survey released by the Partnership for Public Service.

The House Financial Services Committee addressed concerns for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding the agency's implementation of derivatives provisions laid out in the Dodd-Frank Reform Act.

Dwight Fettig, the staff director of the Senate Banking Committee, will return to the private sector at yearend, while several other staffers are receiving promotions. Charles Yi, the chief counsel and deputy staff director, will succeed Fettig.