Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

The smallest community banks are largely exempt from many new regulations, but their CEOs are still facing mounting compliance burdens and heightened concerns over competition with credit unions. American Banker Community Editor Paul Davis reports from his recent meeting with leaders of small banks.

Under Timothy Geithner, the U.S. Treasury dismissed the notion that the biggest banks remained too big to fail. His successor, Jack Lew, initially showed signs of toeing a similar line, but since taking over as Treasury Secretary has displayed a "significant change in attitude," says Neil Barofsky the former inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and author of Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street.

Attorney General Eric Holder has conceded that economic considerations deterred the DOJ from going after big banks. But another reason financial wrongdoers gave gotten off light in recent years is the government's failure to go after them with the aggression it showed during the savings and loan crisis, says Neil Barofsky, a former prosecutor and inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The East Coast oil boom and the rise in hydraulic fracturing are creating headaches for banks that lend to local homeowners, who risk violating government mortgage standards when they sell their property's energy rights to oil and gas companies. American Banker editors discuss the foreclosure and even environmental problems that fracking can create for lenders, and how some banks are coping.

How can banks charge their customers more without inviting their outrage? By introducing new services to off-set the fees and by communicating clearly with their customers, according to some small banks. American Banker reporters discuss other tips for companies that are trying to raise their prices but keep their customers happy.

When faced with the need to conduct an internal investigations, bankers will do themselves a favor by pursuing them with the vigor. Otherwise, neither company directors or outside regulators are likely to buy the line that a bank is serious about addressing its flaws, says Neil Barofsky, an attorney who previously served as a prosecutor and inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The movement of people between the private and public sectors is only a problem when it results government officials identifying with the industries they regulate. In other cases, the comings and goings can actually help the financial system, says Neil Barofsky, a former prosecutor who recently joined law firm Jenner & Block.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday unveiled an enforcement action against Cash America International for robo-signing and other violations. American Banker editors discuss what the action says about the future of the small-dollar loan market and the CFPB's future enforcement activities.

JPMorgan Chase this week agreed to pay $13 billion to settle mortgage-related claims, under a landmark agreement with the Department of Justice. American Banker editors discuss what the settlement means for the bank, Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon and state and federal authorities.

John Stumpf, Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo, has kept his bank profitable for 15 record-breaking quarters, presided over its expansion from coast to coast, and steered clear of the worst regulatory troubles following his biggest competitors. American Banker editors discuss why he is the Banker of the Year for 2013.