Policy & Regulation

The banking industry is expected to benefit marginally from the deal to avert the fiscal cliff, but looming fights over tax reform and the debt ceiling remain.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized its first rule, took its first enforcement actions, and landed its first deals with state regulators and municipalities to enhance data sharing all during the agency's first year. The CFPB's most challenging work, however, is still to come.

Rep. Barney Frank opened up with American Banker's Rob Blackwell in a 2012 interview, discussing what motivated him to get into politics, his personal life, and the cause of political gridlock in Congress.

"With a divided Congress slow to confirm appointees, only one of the four federal bank regulators had a permanent chief, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board of directors had just three members. No one on the board was the confirmed head of an agency," writes American Banker's Joe Adler.

After a deadline-inspired surge, nearly 500,000 borrowers are seeking formal reviews of their 2009 and 2010 foreclosures for mistakes by lenders, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reported.

The benefits banks get from being deemed "too big to fail" will be examined by congressional watchdogs in response to a bipartisan request from senators who say the government hasn't done enough to prevent future bailouts.

Lawmakers in 2013 will continue to oversee implementation of the Dodd-Frank reform law and may begin to make inroads on housing finance reform.

Avoid a change if your bank lacks the ability or resources to implement it successfully. Instead, consider accepting low growth, managing the institution for cash and returning the excess capital to shareholders.

Independent consultants, the Government Accountability Office, and lawmakers have warned banking regulators over the past month that their foreclosure reviews were unfocused, behind schedule and headed for disaster.

We revisit some of the best comments readers posted to AmericanBanker.com and BankThink.com in 2012.