Policy & Regulation

Community bankers and credit unions scored a significant victory while others in the mortgage industry lost out in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's final rule establishing membership standards for the Home Loan banks.

The insurance giant MetLife dropped a bombshell on Tuesday, saying it would separate a "substantial portion" of its U.S. retail segment, in part because of the current economic and regulatory environment.

MetLife plans to separate much of its U.S. retail business as Chief Executive Officer Steve Kandarian works to shrink the company to limit federal oversight.

Legislation to audit the Federal Reserve's monetary policy fell short of the 60 votes necessary to win a key procedural motion in the Senate on Tuesday.

The agency scrapped a part of its 2014 proposal that would have required Home Loan bank members to maintain a certain percentage of residential mortgage assets in order to keep their membership. But it held fast on a provision that would disqualify captive insurance firms from membership.

Digital and alternative currencies are often cast as libertarian-friendly payment vehicles whose very mission engenders government antagonism. But in Canada, things are a bit friendlier.

Convictions of big banks have lacked any tangible consequences for perpetrators, leaving many still doubting that the government is serious about prosecuting large firms.

Raising capital has been tough for community banks ever since the financial crisis, especially the smallest ones. But a few firms have developed structured products that offer banks a chance to band together to raise needed Tier 1 capital at relatively low cost, while avoiding the regulatory ire that befell trust-preferred securities.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is using outdated methodologies to define "brokered deposits," stigmatizing stable sources of funding and forcing banks to pay higher premiums, according to bankers and several outside groups.

A compilation of our favorite stories of 2015, as selected by the people who assigned and edited them.