Policy & Regulation

WASHINGTON — Federal policymakers on Wednesday agreed to postpone unwinding their current bond buying program until amassing further evidence of a strengthened economic recovery.

As Washington continues to recover from the recent government shutdown and debt ceiling fight, the Senate Banking Committee is trying to reignite momentum on housing finance reform. The panel is holding two hearings this week while outside groups conduct roundtables on various proposals for government-sponsored enterprise reform. Following are the five largest questions that have to be resolved.

Community banks have a proportionate disadvantage to taxpayer-subsidized megabanks as the crushing burden of regulation meant to stop the abuses of Wall Street rain down excessively on Main Street.

Western Union Co., the world's biggest money-transfer business, tumbled as much as 13 percent after reporting a drop in third-quarter profit and plans to increase expenses tied to regulatory compliance.

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in the House and Senate has forged a deal to delay flood insurance premium increases that went into effect earlier this month.

JPMorgan Chase's proposed terms for settling state and federal probes of mortgage-bond sales were rejected by the Department of Justice this week, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

Many financial institutions are inadvertently slipping into noncompliance with anti-money laundering rules even as regulators turn up the heat, according to a white paper released Tuesday by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A report released Tuesday says that Treasury and the states are not moving quickly to help unemployed homeowners make their mortgage payments.

The Small Business Administration is temporarily waiving fees on loans of $150,000 or less, and community bankers say it will encourage lenders and borrowers to pursue loans that they had shied away from in recent years.

The Federal Housing Administration has reached a "tipping point" in its mission of providing low-cost protection for homebuyers while trying to keep its insurance fund liquid, Commissioner Carol Galante said today.