Policy & Regulation

The potential consequences include rising interest rates, dropping home values, a resurgence of foreclosures and a dramatic, perhaps generational loss of consumer confidence.

Only a strong QM rule can prevent a repeat of the past and protect consumers from the type of risky and irresponsible lending that preceded the foreclosure crisis.

As the effective date for compliance with the CFPB's final remittance rule approaches, bankers are saying meeting all the requirements will not feasible. "It's one of those 'you can't get there from here’ regulations," says an industry lawyer.

HSBC said it's likely to face criminal charges from U.S. anti-money laundering probes and the cost of a settlement may "significantly" exceed the $1.5 billion the bank has already set aside.

The SEC asked Groupon to explain its accounting for coupon refunds and other aspects of its business after the daily deal site revised 2011 results and disclosed a “material weakness” in its financial controls. Groupon recently entered the payments industry by offering a mobile card reader for Groupon merchants.

Regulators closed the $225 million-asset Heritage Bank of Florida in Lutz, and the $924 million-asset Citizens First National Bank in Princeton, Ill. The two failures were estimated to cost the FDIC a combined $111 million.

International Bancshares in Laredo, Texas, has redeemed another chunk of the money it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The California Department of Financial Institutions has lifted a memorandum of understanding against Hanmi Bank after the Los Angeles institution's condition improved.

Under the OCC, a complex foreclosure review process is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to administrators and advertisements. Critics charge that banks and homeowners would be far better served by a simpler program.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put out its first issue of "Supervisory Highlights," which provides an overview of issues that have emerged in examinations by the agency.