Policy & Regulation

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

The dramatic headwinds of the Affordable Care Act will result in increasing defaults and bankruptcy for many healthcare operators. Lenders should start evaluating risk in their healthcare portfolios now.

The agency's "Supervisory Highlights" report focused on a slew of issues and federal violations that the agency found while examining payday lenders, debt collectors and consumer reporting agencies that resulted in $70 million in remediation payments to consumers.

House Republicans aren't likely to cease their attacks against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau anytime soon, but they appear to be swapping playbooks.

The 2009 law that restricts a range of fees and practices has become the devil you know for the credit card industry.

House lawmakers on Wednesday sharply questioned the speed of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's response to problems with its employee ratings system after discovering that a consulting firm identified disparities based on race, age and gender nearly eight months ago.

New York banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky said Wednesday his office will investigate claims that Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) and other servicers require distressed borrowers to sign nondisclosure agreements in order to receive mortgage modifications.

Esther George, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said Wednesday that community banks are facing headwinds from low interest rates and the cost of complying with the Dodd-Frank Act.

Recently raised regulatory concerns about the massive transfer of mortgage servicing rights from banks to nonbanks are fueling industry hopes that policymakers may be open to addressing the issue.

Bank buyers and sellers should pay attention to the Fed's recent approval of Cullen/Frost's acquisition of WNB Bancshares. Cullen/Frost had to agree to improve its fair-lending and other functions, underscoring the importance of buyers who work well in resolving compliance and other problems with regulators.