Policy & Regulation

WASHINGTON — Banks across the country continued to see widespread signs of increased lending to consumers and businesses in the third quarter, according to a Federal Reserve report released Wednesday.

Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday defended the credibility of living will plans submitted by the country's largest banks, saying it was a complex but useful process.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposal Wednesday that would allow it to publish more information about individual complaints made by consumers about financial companies.

Borrowers with a first-lien modification and home equity line of credit could face a spike in their monthly mortgage obligations when the interest rates on both loans reset next year.

Bank of America completed a $2.1 billion bulk sale of nonperforming home loans in the second quarter, and is almost done with such dispositions, said Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson.

Even activities permitted under the Volcker Rule may not be worth the legal and compliance costs for small and midsize banks, according to three attorneys at Bass, Berry & Sims.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew urged Congress and financial companies to step up their fight against cyber threats, saying malicious acts pose a risk to national security and financial stability.

Mian, a money services business in Georgia, has agreed to pay the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network a $45,000 penalty for repeatedly violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

Smaller banks are disproportionately affected by regulation, forcing some to consider selling or to rethink their strategy, two community bankers argued before Congress.

Although the landmark bill bearing his name stopped short of consolidating the regulators, former Sen. Christopher Dodd said creating a single prudential agency could be revived one day.