Law and regulation

Some readers quickly labeled all 19 megabanks' failure to pass the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's new risk tests as evidence that "Too Big to Fail" remains very much alive. Others blamed the OCC's stricter standards.

Efforts to extend the Transaction Account Guarantee program were dealt a significant blow Thursday as senators blocked a vote on a two-year extension over objections it would cost the government money.

The Officer of the Comptroller of the Currency is trying to shift big bank execs' focus to risks in areas like governance, operations, internal controls and communications. So far, most are failing.

The Treasury said Thursday that it should gross about $23.8 million from auctioning stakes in seven participants in the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The expected proceeds would represent a 9% discount from the nearly $26 million that the government originally invested in those banks.

This platform will need to be enterprise-level to ensure consistency in the application of economic scenarios, model use and reporting.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently graded the 19 largest banks on five factors designed to gauge how well they are being run. The results are shocking.

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.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that regulators are nearing completion of a contentious rule that will ban proprietary trading at U.S. firms.

The House passed a bill by voice vote Wednesday that would exempt banks from sending out privacy notices to customers if the disclosures haven't changed from the prior year.

The House Financial Services Committee had tough questions for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday over its implementation of derivatives provisions laid out in the Dodd-Frank reform law.

Six Federal Home Loan banks have dramatically increased home loan purchases from their members and are selling the loans to Fannie Mae, filling the gap created when large aggregators like Bank of America exited the correspondent business.

The government's recent efforts to stimulate the economy are driving up prices for MBS, creating the potential of interest rate risk for banks that are struggling to make loans.

Outspoken CEO, undeterred by recent setbacks, defends the industry's right to confront Washington, denies 'whale' losses prompted exec shuffle, dismisses chatter that he's headed to Treasury.

The prospects for a bill that would extend a program that provides a federal guarantee for certain business deposits are rapidly fading as Republicans prepare to offer a point of order designed to kill the measure.

Tax incentives and penalties drive behavior regardless of whether or not they represent sound economic reality. And banks will be asked to provide lending and investment support accordingly.

While some may suggest the practice is warranted so agency attorneys can address deficiencies hurting consumers, ultimately everyone loses when opportunities for frank discussion are lost.

With more plastic in circulation than any other payment network — 2.9 billion cards, or 45 percent of the world’s total last year — UnionPay is now accepted in 135 countries. Its rise is causing friction as the firm grabs market share from Visa Inc. as well as MasterCard Inc., which UnionPay surpassed in customer spending in the first half of the year.

The Senate passed two small but critical industry measures late Tuesday involving ATM fee disclosures and information sharing with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, paving the way for the bills to be signed into law by the president.

An EMV Migration Forum committee studying the complex details surrounding the conversion of PIN debit networks to handle EMV chip-card payments in the U.S. has "the highest level of urgency" of any of the forum's study groups.

The Senate passed two bills by unanimous consent Tuesday night involving fee disclosure requirements for ATMs and information sharing with the CFPB, paving the way for the bills to be signed into law.