Opinions

WASHINGTON — The Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday for a measure that would extend a temporary 10-basis point hike in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee fees for an additional four years.

The acting head of New York's financial regulator has asked for details on the instant-messaging service that several large banks are developing, out of the concern that many of the same banks are under investigation for rate-rigging.

The federal government's first broad inquiry into the fast-growing peer-to-peer loan industry raises several important questions, including whether banks will lobby for a clampdown on these lightly regulated competitors.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a $140 million enforcement action against Banamex USA, a Citigroup subsidiary, on Wednesday for having Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering deficiencies.

Discover Financial Services will refund $16 million to consumers and pay a $2.5 million penalty to resolve U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau claims that the bank engaged in illegal student loan servicing practices.

Identity theft protection company LifeLock is coming under fire from the Federal Trade Commission for failing to adequately protect customers' credit card and bank account data, Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information, among other allegations.

Two Florida men with connections to a $200,000-asset New Jersey credit union are being investigated by the FBI for running an unlicensed Bitcoin exchange for the purposes of money laundering.

A growing number of regulators have indicated their support for raising the asset thresholds at which banks face new regulatory requirements. That's welcome news — but time is of the essence in implementing any changes.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, introduced a bill Tuesday that would allow the Small Business Administration to provide backing for more loans.

Citibank has joined a growing list of banks and vendors that have paid a stiff penalty for allegedly using deceptive marketing and billing tactics in selling credit card add-on products. It agreed to pay $770 million in fines and restitution charges, falling just short of a record fine issued last year.