Policy & Regulation

There were three issues that dominated Washington in June: cybersecurity, CFPB rules and staffing problems, and the unexpected emergence of a bipartisan housing finance reform bill. Following are the stories you don't want to miss:

HSBC's $1.9 billion agreement with the U.S. to resolve charges it enabled Latin American drug cartels to launder billions of dollars was approved by a federal judge.

Prudential Financial Inc., the No. 2 U.S. life insurer, is contesting a U.S. finding that it poses a potential risk to the financial system, becoming the first company to challenge the tag that brings additional oversight.

Wells Fargo and HSBC are among four banks that submitted "living wills," or road maps to help regulators safely dismantle them if they fail. Royal Bank of Scotland and BNP Paribas also filed.

Community bankers emerged victorious Tuesday after regulators made a number of key changes to a final package of Basel III capital rules in an effort to address smaller institutions' concerns. But the biggest banks, in contrast, fared far worse.

The FTC's move to hold payment processors responsible for the deeds of unscrupulous merchants could result in higher prices or fewer choices for small businesses and consumers.

MetLife and Prudential Financial have been joined by state regulators challenging the Federal Reserve on how to oversee the biggest insurers under the Dodd-Frank law.

Big banks are facing unprecedented pressure from federal and state regulators to rein in their consumer credit card collections practices following revelations of improper behavior.

Companies that create goods or enhance existing services are seen as innovative and responsive. Businesses that impose fees without adding value often wind up paying a reputational price.

The Office of the Comptroller of Currency has begun issuing its examiners "best practice" guidelines to end big banks' use of faulty records in the sale of defaulted consumer debt. The move could threaten billions of dollars of sales to collections agencies.