Opinions

U.S. banks rebounded in the first quarter as earnings rose 6.9% from a year earlier, to $39.8 billion, and nearly two-thirds of institutions reported higher profits from a year earlier, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wednesday.

The explosive growth of largely unregulated online lenders has given them new opportunities to prey on unsuspecting borrowers.

The Federal Reserve's ability to provide emergency lending to institutions in the event of a crisis must be eliminated in order to end "too big to fail," said Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker.

Deutsche Bank will pay $55 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that it misrepresented the value of derivatives during the financial crisis, materially misstating its accounts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's use of relatively new authority to punish actors for actions considered "abusive" is picking up steam, though the exact meaning of the term is not always easy to grasp.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is planning to issue rules to supervise large installment and vehicle title lenders, according to a recent report.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta reached an agreement to end its loss-share agreements for 12 failed banks that it acquired during the financial crisis.

By ensuring that all big-bank investors receive equal treatment in bankruptcy and looking for other ways to prevent short-term liquidity problems from becoming major financial crises, Congress can avoid the need to test the FDIC’s ability to resolve large financial institutions.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., agreed to expand mortgage lending in minority neighborhoods to settle a federal probe into its fair-housing loan practices.

California officials briefly raised hopes among digital currency proponents Friday by releasing a statement that they would drop plans to regulate digital currency businesses and instead defer to the legislature.