Regulation

A heightened regulatory focus may be a direct result of early positioning as a business distanced from the rest of the payments industry, which may be keeping more banks from offering prepaid products.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is seeking $41 million in a lawsuit filed against two former executives of Lynnwood, Wash.-based City Bank, which failed in 2010.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper filed a lawsuit against Advantage Debt Solutions Inc., a Charlotte, N.C. debt settlement firm, for charging upfront fees while failing to deliver any services.

Banking, mortgage rules on the agenda at statehouses around the country.

Many companies in the payments industry have strong, influential women as top executives. These women rarely had a clear path ahead of them when they started out.

Regulators shut down Douglas County Bank in Douglasville, Ga., and Parkway Bank in Lenoir, N.C. Between them they had assets of $425 million and will cost the Deposit Insurance Fund an estimated $105 million.

First Financial Northwest (FFNW) in Renton, Wash., has been freed from an enforcement action.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took enforcement actions against six banks last month that tied to their capital, compliance and financial condition, according to a series of orders released Friday.

To avoid unwanted scrutiny from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators, banks need to start thinking about "what is fair, not just what is legal," banking attorneys say.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule Friday attempting to clarify how it would use its Civil Penalty Fund, which holds money it collects as a result of fines against financial companies.