Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

With even President Obama weighing in on the need to approve Richard Cordray as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head, the Democrats see a chance to paint their obstructionist rivals at anti-consumer.

The industry is supporting higher fees at Fannie and Freddie as a way to make private rivals more competitive.

Analysts believe that private equity has become more skittish about quick returns from banking.

With the outlook for housing still grim, banks have no choice but to continue the thankless job of modifying mortgages, cutting bank on loan volumes and raising lending standards.

The divide between Democrats and Republicans over the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is so vast that it's preventing them from approving key financial appointees who the parties otherwise agree on.

Compliance issues and regulatory worries can prevent many banks from embracing much new technology internally - especially when it comes to the tricky waters of social media like Twitter. Frank Sorrentino III, CEO of the New Jersey community bank ConnectOne, discusses why he and his bank are so active on Twitter, and why other bankers shouldn't let worries about compliance block them from being innovative.

Banks have beefed up risk management teams dramatically over the past few years. But some are doing a much better job than others of getting their arms around the full extent of the regulations and operational challenges they face, says Ingmar Bromstrup, a Principal at The Boston Consulting Group.

Bankers are spending so much time complying with new regulations that they're in danger of giving short shrift to actual risk management, says Ingmar Bromstrup, a Principal at The Boston Consulting Group.

The finalization of the Volcker Rule signals that banks have reached "the height of the regulatory burden that has been placed on banks" since 2008, according to ConnectOne CEO Frank Sorrentino III. Now bankers just need to figure out how to fully comply with these new rules. Sorrentino, also a board member of the American Bankers Association, discusses his outlook for industry regulation in 2014.

Recurring debit payments, in which consumers give companies their bank or card account numbers to "pull" money out for regular bills, are a jury-rigged solution for a system built in the 1970s, says consultant Dave Birch. There is no need to replicate this setup in the modernized payment system that the Federal Reserve is nudging banks to create, Birch argues. "Push" payments, which require an active step by the accountholder each and every time, are more secure and easier to manage, he says.Related:• JPMorgan, Wal-Mart Offer Starkly Different Views on Faster Payments• Message to Banks: Speed Up Payments or Fed Will Take Charge