Policy & Regulation

Western Union Co. is at the center of a preliminary European Union antitrust inquiry into allegations the company colluded with banks to drive rivals out of the multibillion dollar money-transfer market.

Bank earnings rose nearly 12% to $40.8 billion in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, boosted by lower litigation expenses at a few large institutions, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

The affordable housing market has dried up in major cities across the country. In response, regulators and lenders are looking into new programs to get people back into single-family homes while also exploring ways to encourage multifamily developments.

The Treasury Department will invest an additional $2 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program into a federal fund that seeks to protect homeowners from foreclosure.

Big-bank representatives agree with the concept behind the Fed's "total loss absorbing capacity" proposal but argue that certain provisions are excessive and onerous.

With the stakes so high for compliance officers, their rights and responsibilities should be clearly defined, including a safe harbor for those who play by the rules.

Online gambling is like gun shows and weed—legal and very lucrative, though with enough regulatory baggage that most service providers are reluctant to go near them.

The government-sponsored enterprise was enthusiastic about launching the 97% loan-to-value product when it announced it in December 2014. But it has yet to become a sizable part of Fannie's business.

With the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. poised to announce the results, it's not clear who should be the most nervous: banks, regulators or the American people.

Shoppers who finance the purchase of cars, furniture and home improvements are protected under a decades-old federal regulation. Now consumer groups are urging the FTC to update its rule and consider offering the same protections to victims of home-mortgage or auto-leasing scams.