Regulation

The Federal Reserve’s top regulator, who assumed the chairmanship of the international board in November, said the FSB should explain the rationale behind its financial benchmarks while establishing new ones to combat emerging threats.

Some have suggested the BB&T-SunTrust deal could spur similar ones, but prolonged M&A growth is hardly a sure thing in this political environment.

Wide coverage of the mega-deal between BB&T and SunTrust; GSE reform, CFPB underwriting rule are on collision course; Swift showing more swagger in its rivalry with Ripple; and more from this week's most-read stories.

“The board's record of summarily approving mergers raises doubts about whether it will serve as a meaningful check on this consolidation that creates a new too big to fail bank,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a letter to the Fed.

A recent joint analysis of large syndicated loans urged banks to improve their risk management, even though evidence suggests that nonbanks, not banks, hold the higher share of risky leveraged loans.

The company’s investment in a small business lender is said to be the biggest ever in Europe; the merger may raise questions from regulators, spur more mergers.

Having new guidelines and more regulations will allow for more transparency and give the opportunity for legitimate businesses to invest and strengthen their position in the market, writes Sushil Prabhu, CEO of OpenCrowd.

Readers respond to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overhaul of its payday loans rule, debate reforms to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, consider regulatory exemptions for regional banks and more.

The Senate Banking Committee will examine the nomination of Mark Calabria to oversee the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as nominees for the NCUA board and Treasury.

House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters said the merger is a direct result of a regulatory relief bill that was signed into law in May.