Regulation

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday continued to shrink its stimulus program by yet another $10 billion clip.

The battle over funding for a Department of Justice program to root out fraud in the payments processing industry is heating up this week, as the Senate begins consideration of the law enforcement agency's appropriations bill.

In the era of shadow banking, regulators should focus not on which asset management firms to regulate, but on which asset management activities.

Even though Bitcoin merchant processor BitPay is not required to maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) program, the startup maintains one and is beefing it up with the hiring of former Visa executive Tim Byun.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, introduced a new plan Tuesday to modify and extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

Julian Castro pledged to recapitalize the FHA insurance fund and work with Congress on GSE reform but equivocated when a Senator asked about cities condemning underwater mortgages.

Several federal agencies and 49 state attorneys general struck a $968 million settlement Tuesday with SunTrust Mortgage over charges that it violated laws governing mortgage origination, servicing and foreclosures.

The California Housing Finance Agency is now offering all low- to moderate-income Californians an affordable mortgage loan program that includes down payment assistance and was originally designed for first-time buyers.

When the qualified mortgage rule took effect in January, many predicted the rule would stifle lending to low-income and minority borrowers. But a credit crunch never materialized, thanks to exemptions given to federal mortgage agencies.

Identifying which borrowers are likely to repay short-term, small-dollar loans could help lower costs for both consumers and the financial services industry.