Opinions

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is urging the Department of Defense to finalize a proposal meant to stop lenders from offering expensive credit to military personnel.

The head of the Financial Action Task Force, an international group that sets money-laundering standards, warns that many foreign institutions are now feeling the effects of the push inside American banks to cut off large swaths of customers.

The banking industry and federal regulators are struggling to find a middle ground between financial inclusion and preventing bad guys from gaining access to the mainstream financial system — but it doesn't appear a solution is coming anytime soon.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued four consent orders in November, according to its latest monthly roundup of enforcement actions published Monday.

Centralizing reporting and response functions can help banks better spot compliance shortcomings. It's also a good way to foster trust with regulators.

IMGCAP(1)]

Visa and MasterCard halted services in Crimea after a new round of U.S. sanctions, according to multiple reports.

2014 was a big year for payments. Disruption came from within the financial services industry and from outsiders like Apple and Walmart. Mainstream payment companies had to respond to these new competitors as well as adapt to fresh attention from regulators and fraudsters.

With Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reserves erasing crisis-era losses, the agency is staring down a critical decision on how to implement a congressionally required increase in the insurance fund.

It is unclear if the wave of state actions signals a burgeoning state scrutiny of consumer finance companies or if state enforcers will only employ this new approach on occasion.