Opinions

The Federal Reserve's vow to keep interest rates low for another two years has taken a number of bankers by surprise.

A pair of banking companies said Friday that they have been approved for participating the in the Small Business Lending Fund and plan to use the funds to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The Office of Financial Research said Friday it had delayed plans to issue a rule requiring financial firms to use a legal entity identifier when they report data to the OFR.

Efforts to crack regulators' code are varied but may be close to the mark.

One year following the implementation of Reg E – opt-in for debit card and ATM overdrafts – and 77% of checking account users have given consent.

Some of the new red tape was supposed to drive deals, but it could dry up M&A among banks near $50 billion of assets.

Banks have struggled for years to get their customers to accept paperless account statements. But even among those who have succeeded in such efforts, paper use has risen.

Barack Obama has missed his chance to see a director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau take office within his first term as president.

Regulators should be aware of the role banks play in steering these products into pension, endowment and foundation portfolios.

The reality is sinking in.