Opinions

Promontory Financial vowed to take the New York Department of Financial Services to court after it effectively banned the consulting firm from working on regulatory issues for banks the department supervises.

Citigroup is being investigated over its student-loan servicing practices in a probe that the bank said echoes an enforcement action against at least one other institution.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including whether independent consultants should be criminally liable for misrepresentations in their reports and whether higher rates will help or hurt banks.

An NCUA proposal to make credit unions more competitive commercial lenders is drawing fire from community bankers, who say it invites risky underwriting, unfair competition and a repeat of the thrift crisis.

Firing or cutting the pay of fraudulent or reckless bankers will go a lot further toward restoring the reputation of financial services than any new regulations, according to a reform-minded group of bankers and regulators.

While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has not deviated from a 2013 paper outlining a method for unwinding a giant firm, the agency has appeared to fine-tune its approach in significant ways.

Lawmakers included a measure that will impose new mortgage reporting requirements on banks and servicers as part of a short-term highway funding bill passed this week by both chambers of Congress.

Fourth Corner Credit Union, chartered last year to serve Colorado's legal marijuana industry, has filed lawsuits against the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Reserve after having its applications rejected for share deposit insurance and access to the Fed system, respectively.

It's not enough for banks to avoid deceptive practices. As the CFPB's latest enforcement action against JPMorgan Chase makes clear, banks are obligated to ensure their systems protect consumers from easily preventable mistakes.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.