Policy & Regulation

The diverging responses of the nation's biggest bank and its largest retailer illustrate the broad divide that the Federal Reserve will be seeking to bridge in its effort to encourage a speedier payments infrastructure within a decade.

The final Volcker Rule is much friendlier to syndicated lenders and collateralized loan obligations than earlier versions. However, some banks will still have to divest some CLO holdings, and leveraged lenders face other regulatory challenges.

A group of Democratic senators introduced legislation Tuesday that would prohibit employers from requiring applicants to disclose their credit history as part of the hiring process.

The Office of Financial Research released a report Tuesday that cited continued risks from a reliance on short-term wholesale funding and unveiled an early prototype for how it plans to track threats to the financial system.

Regulatory officials have been optimistic that they would finish critical aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act by the yearend, but as the year comes to a close, banking agencies are likely to miss the target.

LNB Bancorp (LNBB) in Lorain, Ohio, has sold $3.7 million of stock as part of a plan to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Chinese central bank officials told third-party payment service providers to stop offering clearing services to online Bitcoin exchanges, according to China Business News, which is affiliated with the Shanghai government.

Actions jointly announced against California-based CashCall signal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's intent to target online lending based on claims originating in states.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is requesting public comment on a plan to gradually reduce the maximum size of loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase from mortgage lenders.

With payday loans in regulators' cross hairs, banks are looking to check cashing as a way to bring in new customers and boost fee income.