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Washington's star-crossed mortgage foreclosure settlement suffered yet another setback this week when checks belatedly sent out to homeowners bounced. The troubles that have plagued the program from start to finish raise a number of broader questions. Among them: whether regulators' fondness for complex solutions is itself a recipe for failure and whether the foreclosure settlement's litany of troubles will lead to concrete policy changes.

The banking industry backs a controversial cybersecurity bill, saying it would give them timely information needed to fend off cyberattacksm, while civil liberties groups charge the bill lacks safeguards to protect people's privacy.

Bank of the West's Andy Harmening says there needs to be more conversation to determine the future of the big banks and whether they should be broken up. Harmening, a senior executive vice president and regional banking group head, spoke to American Banker at the annual Best Practices in Retail Banking Symposium.

Why haven't any bankers gone to jail for the financial crisis? "Maybe they didn't commit a crime. … There's a difference between committing a crime and using bad judgment," says former JPMorgan Chase CEO William Harrison.

Banks competing for new loans can be irrational and "a little scary" in terms of pricing, says Andy Harmening, a senior executive vice president and regional banking group head at Bank of the West. He spoke to American Banker at the annual Best Practices in Retail Banking Symposium.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau "has been a good communicator" with the banking industry and "has done some positive things" but also has "a big job to do," says Bank of the West's Andy Harmening, a senior executive vice president and regional banking group head. Harmening discusses the advantages and pitfalls of dealing with the new regulatory agency at American Banker's annual Best Practices in Retail Banking Symposium.

Bank of the West is trying to expand its lending, even to small-business borrowers who are initially turned down for new loans, while managing risk prudently. Andy Harmening, a senior executive vice president and regional banking group head, discusses the bank's efforts to increase business but control risk. He spoke to American Banker at the annual Best Practices in Retail Banking Symposium.

The OCC is seeking enforcement powers against the consultants it requires banks to hire, but having such authority may be a limited fix at best.