FDIC

Policies to shore up banks’ corporate cultures have remained a low priority even though some regulators want to attack the issue head on. Strengthening a firm’s ethical values may best be left to a bank’s internal brass.

The agency said Cross River Bank and an affiliated debt settlement company misled customers into thinking a debt consolidation program would settle their debts and boost their creditworthiness.

In his last major speech as the agency’s No. 2, Thomas Hoenig said it would be a “serious policy mistake” to relax measures such as the supplementary leverage ratio, but he was more open to regulatory relief in other areas.

Just as promised, Republican lawmakers went to work Wednesday considering regulatory reform ideas that would go further than the Senate's tweaks of the Dodd-Frank Act.

In an update on the Deposit Insurance Fund, FDIC staff said the fund's ratio of reserves to estimated deposits will likely reach the required 1.35% level by the second half of 2018.

Gulfside Bank, which would be based in Sarasota, is angling to become southwest Florida's first new bank in a decade.

The agency's decision to lift a 2002 consent order against Ace Cash Express could lead to a revival of partnerships between national banks and payday lenders.

Regulators are working intently on a proposal to reform how they apply the Community Reinvestment Act after previous attempts to modernize CRA policy drew mixed reviews.

The major prepaid card issuer agreed to the penalty to settle allegations that it had charged higher fees than what was disclosed to customers.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg said Tuesday that he is on the fence about whether to serve on the agency's board for the remainder of the year even after he is replaced as head of the agency.