Regulation

WASHINGTON — Top Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee are asking several watchdog agencies to provide more information about federal regulators' employment policies and practices with regard to minorities and women.

A Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday focused on Target and other organizations could have done to prevent massive breaches and possible legislative steps can be taken to improve data security.

The Federal Reserve Board denied the capital plans of Citigroup, HSBC, RBS Citizens, Santander and Zions in its second round of stress tests this year.

MasterCard Inc. is planning its first bond sale on record with a $1.5 billion issue.

Senate Banking members examined concerns about alternative lending products such as payday loans on Wednesday, though consensus on what, if any, changes are needed to the industry remains elusive.

With more reliable loan data, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have greater confidence that borrowers would not default. In return, lenders would receive a juicy carrot: fewer buyback requests.

WASHINGTON — Several officials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are being called to testify before a House subcommittee next week on recent allegations that employees were being mistreated.

Payday lenders told the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday that they will accept new regulation so long as it does not "cripple" the industry and credit availability.

The U.S. government will treat Bitcoin as property for tax purposes, applying rules it uses to govern stocks and barter transactions, the Internal Revenue Service said in its first substantive ruling on the issue.

The top five U.S. financial institutions benefited from a funding advantage in key markets prior to the enactment of regulatory reform, according to a study released Tuesday by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.