Law and regulation

The jump in Bank of America’s Basel III capital ratio in the third quarter reflected favorable moves in rates and credit spreads, not retained earnings.

The House is scheduled to vote this week on a bill that would exempt banks from sending an annual privacy notice to customers unless the disclosures have changed from a year earlier.

The $1.75 billion-asset company disclosed late last week that its purchase agreements with ValStone Partners, a private-equity firm in Michigan, had been terminated. Calls to Capitol (CBCRQ) and ValStone were not immediately returned.

FDIC and Bank of England released a white paper showing agreement about resolution approaches as a top BOE official signaled flexibility in how the U.S. resolves firms with U.K. operations.

Standard Chartered Bank will pay $327 million to settle charges that it violated U.S. law by laundering millions of dollars for banks and others in Iran and Sudan.

Bob Kottler, an executive at Iberiabank, hopes the Consumer Bankers Association can help shape the agency’s rulemaking process in 2013.

In the first of the FDIC's 39 suits against bank executives, it has won a jury verdict declaring three former IndyMac executives breached their fiduciary duties by lending recklessly to home builders during the housing boom.

The Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a bill that would extend a crisis-era program that guarantees certain business accounts.

HSBC (HBC) is overhauling its unit that oversees compliance with laws designed to deter financial crime, and putting a former Treasury Department official in charge of it.

Typical acquirers — including banks, processors and independent sales organizations — stand to lose up to 5% of their business next month because of problems with Internal Revenue Service 1099K reporting, a tax expert says.

Congressional approval for a two-year extension would, among other things, prevent more uncertainty, minimize deposit concentration and maximize financial stability.

Patrick Pinto, a former vice president at Oxford Collection Agency, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit bank bribery during his time with the company.

Housing advocates say a gap has opened between the relief the five big mortgage servicers agreed to provide under a $25 billion settlement and what borrowers are seeing on the ground.

As policymakers negotiate to avoid the fiscal cliff, bank lobbyists are fighting to extend TAG, the Obama administration is facing a nearly defunct FHA, and Chicago will become the first city in the country to directly report information to the CFPB.

With the help of technology and the FHFA, the CFPB can create Dynamic Disclosures for consumers. Better information will put borrowers on an equal footing with lenders, making non-Qualified Mortgage loans safer to originate.

Financial institutions and consumer groups are each trying to influence a report that will help determine the rules for settling customer disputes.

Senator-elect Heidi Heitkamp may be the next in line to join the Senate Banking Committee.

Comptroller Tom Curry said the agency has worked to address several concerns from staff after a recent survey — the first being stepping up internal communications by senior management.

Banks are unsure if deposit contracts with broker-dealers that have longer-term rate and contract maturities will be treated as such under Basel III.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is asking the Independent Community Bankers of America to "immediately cease and desist" use of the credit union trade group's name in reference to support of a controversial bill to extend a crisis-era account guarantee program.