Policy & Regulation

Bank of America's legal woes deepened Tuesday, as U.S. Bank filed suit over soured home-loan bonds and a flurry of investors said they might object to a high-profile mortgage-bond settlement.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has ordered CB Holding Corp. in Aledo, Ill., to serve as a source of strength for its struggling bank unit, Country Bank.

If the U.S. Congress had failed to lift the debt ceiling by its Aug. 2 deadline, senior Fed officials were prepared to take necessary actions to stabilize the market, if warranted.

U.S. Bancorp asked a New York court to force Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide Financial unit to repurchase more than 4,000 loans in a mortgage pool to repair breaches of contract related to improper underwriting.

Spencer Bachus' lead in campaign contributions reverses an advantage held last session by the House Financial Services Committee's top Democrat.

An analysis of campaign-finance data proves that the House Financial Services Committee is an excellent place for vulnerable freshmen to raise money.

The FDIC is objecting to Bank of America's proposed $8.5 billion mortgage-bond settlement with investors, joining investors and states that are challenging the agreement.

Loans or other investments that "revitalize or stabilize federally designated disaster areas" could help boost banks' scores on Community Reinvestment Act exams, the FDIC said in a letter to institutions.

It all seemed so simple. The cause of the financial crisis was that private label securitizers of subprime mortgage loans weren't required to "have enough skin in the game," so Dodd-Frank would require them to retain 5% of the risk.

ICBA says fair-lending actions overstep legal authority by focusing outside a bank's CRA assessment boundaries.