Regulation

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The Buffalo, N.Y., company still has some goodwill from analysts based on its reputation as a skilled bank buyer, but it has become the poster child for the risks associated with M&A in a tough regulatory environment.

Judges for an appeals court appeared sympathetic Friday to the Federal Reserve Board's defense of its rule capping interchange fees on debit cards, fueling hopes by bankers that the agency will beat back a legal challenge.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) this week on BankThink.

Webster Financial (WBS) in Waterbury, Conn., reported lower fourth-quarter profit after taking a big charge tied to the Volcker Rule.

In his last speech as Federal Reserve Board chairman, Ben Bernanke said the central bank's steps to support wholesale funding markets were "as important, if not more important" than other actions taken during the crisis.

Reps. John Delaney, D-Md., John Carney, D-Del., and Jim Himes, D-Conn., unveiled the outlines of a new housing finance reform plan on Thursday that would provide an explicit government backstop for the market, while requiring increased private sector participation.

Regulators' attempt to carve out an exemption for small banks from a key part of the Volcker Rule satisfied most institutions that feared getting swallowed up in the Dodd-Frank Act provision, but left others still vulnerable to the regulation and facing significant losses.

It is easy to see the stress tests as an annoying distraction to banks. However, if banks embrace them, these tests can be a useful arrow in the risk management quiver.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed official guidelines describing its "heightened expectations" for how large banks and thrifts control risk.