Regulation

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Government Accountability Office has agreed to a congressional request to investigate the massive data collection efforts at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Senate Banking Committee, voting along party lines, approved the nomination of Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., on Thursday to become director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

After years of government and telco-backed testing of contactless mobile payments in France, a major bank is ready to provide a significant boost to the country's Near Field Communication project.

American Express does not expect the discount rate it charges merchants to fall under the jurisdiction of regulations being considered by the European Union to place caps on interchange fees.

Senate lawmakers held a hearing Wednesday to urge regulators to clamp down on a debt collection industry criticized for poor documentation practices and conflicts of interest.

With mortgage rates climbing in recent weeks homeowners have switched from feverishly pursuing refinancing to buying new homes, a Federal Reserve Board report said Wednesday.

After the Senate's confirmation of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren applauded the decision at an event celebrating the bureau's second anniversary.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers that a future housing finance reform plan should provide clarity to the private sector about the level of support the government provides to the market.

The new leverage ratio is a relatively modest proposal that can be easily addressed by the affected banks without material capital raises or changes in distribution policy.

The Senate's confirmation of Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ends a long period of uncertainty for the new agency – and for the banks that it regulates. It also effectively ends efforts by Republicans and the industry to change the structure of the CFPB.