Policy & Regulation

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered First Investors Financial Services Group to pay a nearly $3 million fine on charges the subprime auto lender reported inaccurate customer credit information to the credit bureaus.

Federal banking regulators are seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by payday lenders that claim to be victims of Operation Choke Point.

The 14-term congressman was a dominating force as House Banking Committee chairman. But the savings and loan deregulation bearing his name tarnished his legislative record, and ethics allegations created a cloud of suspicion that led to his ouster.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said examiners are on the lookout for borrowers getting the "runaround" when their loans are serviced by a new company.

The hot-button topic of what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should charge for loan guarantees is emerging as a key issue in reviving a private-label securitization market.

WASHINGTON — Friends of Traditional Banking, a banking SuperPAC, has narrowed its congressional elections "watch list" for the November midterm races to four tight Senate contests.

The FDIC, OCC and Fed all maintain that it's up to banks, not their regulators, to make decisions about whether to do business with payday lenders.

Standard Chartered agreed to pay $300 million for failing to flag suspicious transactions after promising to do so as part of a 2012 settlement with New York's banking regulator.

Investors will remain reluctant to take on the personal risk inherent in establishing de novo community banks as long as new regulations remain unwieldy and returns stay low, according to Richard Magrann-Wells.

Mixed signals from regulators — on everything from electronic checks to Operation Choke Point - only create fear, uncertainty and doubt among those in the business of improving the payment system, writes Glen Fossella.