Policy & Regulation

Now is not the time for the Federal Housing Administration — which has stayed strong amid turmoil — to reduce its market share.

House Republicans attacked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday, arguing the agency is not able to safely secure the anonymous bulk data it collects on consumers' financial activities.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday that it has hired Mary McLeod to become the agency's new general counsel starting next year.

Credit risk, interest rate risk and cybersecurity concerns pose growing risks to banks in the first half of 2016, according to a semiannual risk report issued Wednesday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The banking industry had mixed opinions of the Fed's decision to boost rates. Most believe 25 basis points will do little to move the needle financially, but they are apprehensive about the impact more increases will have on deposits, lending and credit quality. Here is a sampling of what bankers have said in recent days.

Despite months of intense lobbying, the banking industry failed to secure a number of key reforms in Congress's must-pass spending package, unveiled Tuesday night.

Bank officials say they are ready for rising rates; disagree on how much the initial increase would help or hurt lending and the economy; and predict more rate increases next year.

The Federal Open Market Committee Wednesday voted to raise federal interest rates from nearly zero for the first time since 2008, meeting market expectations but ushering in a new and uncertain normal for the banking industry.

The central bank's "total loss absorbing capacity" proposal must be reworked to ensure that costs of huge failures don't fall on society at large.

Developing banking solutions for lower-income consumers means getting to the heart of the financial volatility they face trying to make ends meet.