Policy & Regulation

Earnings at HSBC's North American operation fell 12% in the first quarter. Details about the unit's future restructuring are due next month, but executives offered reassurances Tuesday that they don't plan to divest it.

There will always be a need for small-dollar loans. But loans that trap people in debt and burden borrowers with triple-digit interest rates are simply abusive.

Wells Fargo & Co. was sued by Los Angeles for allegedly opening accounts and issuing credit cards without customers' authorization as part of what the city called a "fee-generating machine."

WASHINGTON — Banks expect oil and gas drilling loans to underperform in 2015, but say they are a relatively small proportion of their overall commercial and industrial loan portfolios, according to a survey of loan officers released Monday by the Federal Reserve Board.

Two House Financial Services Committee members introduced a bipartisan bill late last week that is designed to give lenders breathing room when new disclosure rules go into effect on Aug. 1.

Regulators and banks worldwide agree that universal implementation of Legal Entity Identifiers, or LEIs, is essential to prevent contagion during the next financial crisis. So why is it taking so long to roll it out?

Created under the guise of a program to root out fraud and illegal activity, this initiative has been used by Obama administration bureaucrats to pressure banks to end relationships with businesses they consider objectionable or "high risk."

A chief financial officer's workday is booked solid dealing with regulatory issues, risk assessments and finding places to cut costs. If they could find an extra hour, bank CFOs say they would use that time to consider how to improve their banks' strategies, employees and communities.

If banking is under attack, then chief financial officers are the defenders of the realm. Equipped with the numbers, they are uniquely positioned to bring the credible answers their stakeholders seek and the changes their companies need.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken its enforcement authority to the streets — literally.