Regulation

JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $1.7 billion to resolve U.S. claims that it played a role in facilitating Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, the government said, resolving yet another legal obstacle facing the bank.

The finalization of the Volcker Rule signals that banks have reached "the height of the regulatory burden that has been placed on banks" since 2008, according to ConnectOne CEO Frank Sorrentino III. Now bankers just need to figure out how to fully comply with these new rules. Sorrentino, also a board member of the American Bankers Association, discusses his outlook for industry regulation in 2014.

The Senate voted 56 to 26 late Monday to confirm Janet Yellen as the next leader of the Federal Reserve Board.

Elmira Savings Bank (ESBK) in Elmira, N.Y., has redeemed the remaining $3.5 million of preferred stock issued to the Treasury Department through the Small Business Lending Fund.

The Target Corp. data breach just before the holiday shopping season triggered another round of rhetoric on the merits and shortcomings of chip-based cards. But the breach's direct effect on merchant EMV plans is largely up in the air.

Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission is barring Bitcoin ATMs because the country's regulatory body views Bitcoin as a false currency that should not be used by people or banks for payments.

The Senate Banking Committee is moving forward with a plan to overhaul the housing finance system, but leaders still face a delicate balancing act in swaying some liberal members of the panel to sign on to the bipartisan effort without losing conservative supporters.

Bank of the West said Monday it will continue to offer interest-only mortgages to borrowers even though such loans are excluded from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's qualified mortgage rule that goes into effect Jan. 10.

The Federal Reserve should allow market participants to make their own bets on what the central bank will do and when it will do it.

House leaders are unlikely to take up housing finance reform on the chamber floor this month, according to a new legislative schedule.