Law and regulation

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Daniel Tarullo gave a glimpse of what significant policy changes U.S. regulators are considering for the supervision of large foreign banking organizations in a speech at Yale University's Law School.

Northeast Bancorp in Lewiston, Maine, has repurchased the roughly 4,200 preferred shares it issued to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The bureau could offer an X Prize, encouraging companies to solve problems through competition or invite applications from entrepreneurs and financial companies, providing those with the most promising ideas a time-limited waiver for pilot tests.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said Margaret E. "Lyn" McDermid has been named the chief information officer for the Federal Reserve System.

International Bancshares (IBOC) in Laredo, Texas, has completed the repurchase of its remaining 131,000 shares of preferred stock issued under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The House Republican Conference elected the Texas lawmaker as the next chairman of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

As policymakers mull the future of U.S. mortgage policy, Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Ed DeMarco sees a potential starting point in an entity he does not regulate: the Federal Housing Administration.

Many bankers in the New York area saw few effects from the October hurricane, while the Philadelphia area saw widespread bank and ATM closures, according to the Fed's Beige Book.

The risk profession continues to aid and abet our tendency to want to quantify everything. But understanding real life is ultimately a social, not physical, science.

Just days after the Senate's top Democrat, Harry Reid, proposed a two-year renewal to the Transaction Account Guarantee program, a leading Republican on the Senate Banking Committee came forward and said he plans to oppose the extension.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Daniel Tarullo on Wednesday offered an early peek at significant policy changes U.S. regulators are considering for the supervision of large foreign banking organizations.

The effort to extend the Transaction Account Guarantee, which is due to expire at yearend, received a major "boost this week after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled a bill to keep it alive for another two years," writes American Banker's Joe Adler.

CardHub.com blasted the Federal Reserve Board after releasing a report evaluating what credit card issuers are required to tell their customers about possible interest rate hikes.

"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday it will amend its rule establishing new disclosures for international money transfers in a move designed to ease bankers' fears that the regulation is overburdensome," writes American Banker's Rachel Witkowski.

Sen. Bob Corker said Wednesday he plans to oppose extending the Transaction Account Guarantee program, just days after the Senate's top Democrat proposed a two-year renewal.

We now have two different definitions of a "high-cost" mortgage, as well as a "higher priced" mortgage, and a "higher risk" mortgage. Clearly, Congress failed to practice what it preaches.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has sponsored a standalone bill to give the Transaction Account Guarantee program another two year. The extension, which many community bankers view as critical, is still very much in doubt.

U.S. units of foreign lenders including Deutsche Bank AG may be required by regulators to comply with tougher capital rules that some banks sought to skirt, three people with knowledge of the discussions said.

Mortgage lender American Financial Resources filed a lawsuit against Countrywide Home Loans Servicing and Bank of America seeking more than $10 million for an alleged breach of contract, negligence and fraud.

Throughout his three decades in Congress, Barney Frank reached across the aisle to tackle big problems, and crafted groundbreaking legislation with far-reaching effects for banks.