Regulation

Friends of Traditional Banking has narrowed its watch list of candidates for the November elections, saying it will focus solely on Senate races this year.

Bank of America agreed to pay $16.6 million to resolve claims it processed transactions for drug traffickers.

Banks can ensure that their oversight teams help to propel the whole company forward by creating a thorough governance structure and hiring overseers with experience in key business lines.

Banks face an overhaul of international rules for measuring losses on loans, derivatives and other assets as regulators seek to prevent a recurrence of the fire sales seen in the last financial crisis.

The U.S. Treasury, which finances more than 90 percent of new student loans, is exploring ways to make repayment more affordable as defaults by almost 7 million Americans and other strapped borrowers restrain economic growth.

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle Internet Financial, explains how his company follows anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations in a field associated in the public mind with anonymity and black markets. He also discusses the risk-based approach to AML and why compliance won't necessarily undermine Bitcoin's cost advantage as a payment system.

The Federal Housing Administration is revamping its loan review processes to correct faulty underwriting in an effort to lure institutions back to the program.

Former Massachusetts Senator Barney Frank unsurprisingly defended the financial reform law, yet also indicated he disagreed with regulators on implementation of some elements and a push by Sen. Elizabeth Warren to restore Depression-era rules separating banking from other industries.

CEO Joe Ficalora says the thrift has ways it can buy time to announce a transformative acquisition or benefit from a change in the definition of what it requires to be a systemically important institution. With OneWest off the table, industry observers wonder if the thrift can find the deal it’s been looking for.

The riskiest money-market mutual funds will be required to abandon their stable, $1-share value and allow their prices to float under rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.