Policy & Regulation

The former president and chief executive at the failed Orion Bank in Naples, Fla., faces up to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying to examiners about the bank’s health.

New legislation in the House would reduce certain tax-reporting requirements for merchants, which could benefit credit-card companies as well.

WASHINGTON–A new House bill aims to ease the tax-reporting requirements for retailers that rely on card purchases, which could stave off a wave of confused phone calls from merchants to their processors, according to the bill’s supporters.

To suggest that MMFs exist in a hidden “shadow” world simply distorts reality.

The measure would also ban bonuses to executives at Fannie and Freddie, while requiring firms that sell information they gather on Capitol Hill to hedge funds to register as lobbyists.

Regulators say coordination is a high priority, but under Dodd-Frank institutions of varying sizes and charters will face different regimes.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said the administration will release new details on a plan for GSE reform in the coming months, but said he doesn't expect legislation to advance this year.

The Senate approved an amendment to stop Fannie and Freddie from paying bonuses and a separate measure that would require members of Congress to disclose the terms of their mortgages.

Analysts and former regulators debate whether last year's decline in new regulatory orders means things are improving for the banking industry, or if regulators are simply running out of sick banks to flag.

Nearly one year after the Treasury Department outlined a broad strategy for housing finance reform, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Thursday the administration will finally outline more specific plans in the next few months.