Regulation

Sunrise Bank in Cocoa Beach, Fla., has been freed from an enforcement order from the Federal Reserve Board.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday took another step in its effort to scale down a controversial bond buying program by an additional $10 billion.

Bankers think the regulatory environment is bad already, but it could get worse as regulators crack down harder on rules violators, hold directors and foreign banks to stricter standards and tackle "too big to fail," a top banking lawyer says.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is charging PHH Corp. for running a mortgage insurance kickback scheme for more than a decade.

Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp (CRZY) in Buffalo, Wyo., is planning to convert to a state charter and repurchase preferred stock it issued to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

It's still unclear what New York's planned "BitLicense" actually is, but the New York Department of Financial Services says its license is meant to encourage Bitcoin businesses to operate and innovate in the state.

President Obama hit on several important issues for bankers in his annual address to Congress Tuesday night, including mortgage finance reform, though as expected financial services issues largely took a backseat to other national concerns, like unemployment and the minimum wage.

It's still unclear what New York's planned "BitLicense" actually is, but the New York Department of Financial Services says its license is meant to encourage Bitcoin businesses to operate and innovate in the state.

President Obama used his State of the Union address Tuesday evening to call for the creation of a new government-backed retirement savings account and reiterate a call for comprehensive housing finance reform.

Richard Cordray, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's normally unflappable director, reacted angrily Tuesday to suggestions by lawmakers that he and his agency do not care about borrowers who purchase manufactured housing.