Policy & Regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission just gave unregistered banks a way to quickly raise capital at a fortuitous time — and marketplace lending platforms a way to reclaim their peer-to-peer roots.

President Obama lauded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Thursday for cracking down on high interest rate, short-term loans while defending the agency against attempts to defang it.

The $969 million-asset company said in a press release Thursday that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had lifted a September 2010 consent order against First National Community Bank.

Paul Saltzman, the head of The Clearing House Association who helped to significantly raise the trade group's profile in recent years, is stepping down to pursue other opportunities, the group said Thursday.

PayPal will pay a $7.7 million fine for processing payments from customers that have ties to sanctioned parties on a U.S. Government list.

WASHINGTON — The House Financial Services Committee approved nearly a dozen regulatory reform bills for community banks and credit unions on Thursday, though Democrats signaled they remain concerned about efforts to roll back the Dodd-Frank Act and consumer protection measures.

After releasing successive studies on the payday industry over the past two years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is finally set to unveil Thursday sweeping proposals that could fundamentally change the business of short-term loans and other products

Senate Democrats have now joined the fight over the Financial Stability Oversight Council's designation process, calling for "systemically important" firms to be able to shed the label.

A top Democratic lawmaker said Wednesday that the compliance burdens placed on small and medium sized banks outweigh the risks they pose to the financial system.

Subprime auto lending has become a top priority for the CFPB, said Steven Antonakes, the agency's deputy director on Wednesday. He also revealed that it was open to making changes to its complaint portal, which the agency recently said would allow consumers to post detailed narratives of their problems with financial institutions.