Policy & Regulation

What happens when the government’s investors start demanding a normal rate of interest? House prices could plummet, mortgage defaults could soar and the added interest costs could cause the federal deficit to spiral out of control.

Some collection agencies in Canada said Monday they are not happy that legislative reform has grouped them in with unscrupulous out-of-province debt-reduction companies.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray is expected to stick out his recess appointment term through 2013 regardless of who wins the presidency. After that various different scenarios could play out.

The government continues to broaden relief for homeowners in areas hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Bankrupt should be barred from selling its mortgage servicing unit to Ocwen Financial unless Ocwen agrees to honor ResCap's portion of a $25 billion legal settlement with the U.S. and 49 states, government lawyers said in court papers.

Although bankers want full insurance for certain deposits to be extended, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. encouraged institutions Monday to tell customers in advance that that insurance may expire.

In all the regulatory discussion of small banks vs. megabanks, what about midsized banks? Some of those banks that are over the $50 billlion asset threshold, but far from being a Wall Street behemoth, are hiring their own lobbyists.

The outspoken Texas lawmaker is widely expected to take the top slot on the banking panel, pursuing an agenda to revamp Dodd-Frank and privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The CFPB, FDIC and FHFA face a number of potential scenarios affecting their leadership structure depending on who wins Tuesday night.

As the presidential election looms, observers talk about changes a President Romney could make to the CFPB while regulators warn on reducing loan loss reserves too quickly. Following are the top stories from Washington last week.