Law and regulation

Two community banks have repaid the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The Federal Reserve Board has terminated enforcement actions against Community Bankers Trust (BTC) in Glen Allen, Va., and Northwestern Bank in Chippewa Falls, Wis.

HSBC's record-setting $1.92 billion penalty for a slew of anti-money laundering problems surprised many in the financial industry, who warned it could set a new precedent for targeting other institutions.

A bank's decision to balk at paying dividends to a private investor that bought its Troubled Asset Relief Program shares may reduce investor interest in future such offerings and make it harder for the government to make a decent return.

The chief executives of two New York banks will serve on a panel charged with recommending changes to the state's tax code.

Regulators need to create an environment where firms are not afraid to speak out. Banks need to come up with clearer explanations of their business models to prevent the creation of unnecessary rules.

The Obama administration released a statement of policy Tuesday in favor of a bill to extend the TAG program, just hours before the Senate passed a motion to limit debate on the legislation, the first procedural step towards a final vote.

The FDIC signed off on an 18% cut in funding for 2013, but it is still dealing with elevated numbers of troubled banks and Dodd-Frank-related workload.

Home Depot Inc. and other retailers lost their bid to appeal a judge’s preliminary approval of Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc.’s proposed $7.25 billion settlement of a merchant fee price-fixing case.

MasterCard is confident that the proposed $7.25 billion settlement of allegations that it and Visa engaged in merchant fee price fixing will receive final approval, according to Nomura analysts who recent met with key executives of the card network.

Ensuring that corporate boards include a diverse set of skills, backgrounds and personalities helps against groupthink's dislocation of corporate and shareholder interests.

The U.K. banking giant has agreed to pay $1.9 billion to settle U.S. money-laundering charges. Unsettled is whether global banks have the controls to avoid a repeat.

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's largest bank, agreed to pay $1.92 billion to settle U.S. probes of money laundering in the largest such accord ever.

The Treasury Department is scheduled on Tuesday to auction warrants to purchase 1.2 million shares of common stock in M&T Bank.

Bitcoin-Central, a French digital currency exchange that handles the largely unregulated Bitcoin currency, now operates under French regulation after parent-company Paymium partnered with payment services provider Aqoba.

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.