Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Citigroup and Wells Fargo are laying off hundreds of mortgage workers, as the boom in home loan refinances starts to taper off. The job cuts are a familiar story for the cyclical mortgage business, but they signal more bad news for the banks that have seen refis as a bright spot amid lackluster sources of revenue.

State laws requiring money-transmitter licenses have raised the barriers to entry for startups trying to compete with banks and entrenched companies like PayPal. But by keeping out smaller, more nimble payments companies, state regulators could affect the banking industry's long-term innovation and growth.

Neff Hudson, emerging channels executive at USAA, shares his views on what banks should be doing about mobile payments.

Just when banks thought they had adjusted to life under the Durbin cap on debit card interchange fees, a court has deal them a huge and unexpected blow. Bucking the usual judicial practice of deferring to regulators, a federal judge has ruled that the Fed set the cap too high at 21 cents and disregarded the intent of the Dodd-Frank Act. Expect appeals and a protracted fight that could take years to settle the matter.

Wells Fargo has become the latest big bank to halt sales of delinquent credit card debt to outside collectors. The move comes as collections activities face mounting regulatory scrutiny. American Banker editors discuss the evolving landscape and what’s at stake for the industry.

From the Volcker Rule to GSE reform, a number of major banking policy issues remain unresolved as the nation's capital clears out for its annual summer recess. Here's a look at where the policymaking and regulatory agendas stand, the prospects for August surprises and what issues are likely to heat up when the weather cools.

A Bitcoin conference in New York last week drew a motley crowd. There were the expected wide-eyed believers in the digital currency, earnest entrepreneurs building Bitcoin-related businesses, and somewhat more skeptical venture capitalists — but also traditional banking lawyers and anti-money laundering compliance consultants whose services are in hot demand. Startup executives complained about the difficulty of getting (or keeping) bank accounts and state money transmitter licenses. But the technology shows great promise and demonstrates that it is possible to send money as fast and as cheaply as email, even if banks running on legacy systems cannot.

Are banks destined to become trusted repositories for personal information as some pundits predict or is the notion utter nonsense? That was one hot topic of conversation during a recent Twitter Chat hosted by American Banker on the future of banking. The publication's BankThink editors discuss.

President Obama belatedly weighed in Tuesday with a vision of how to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the future of housing finance. American Banker editors discuss how the White House’s involvement is likely to influence the debate.

Regulators are pressuring banks to serve as deputies in their crackdown on online payday lenders. It's part of a broader push in which government authorities are holding bankers accountable for the activities of the third parties with which they do business. American Banker staffers discuss what’s at stake for the industry.