Regulation

Lawmakers are looking into removing the roadblock that currently exists in California for mobile-pay startups that either can't afford the compliance costs for state licensing or define themselves as Web-based marketplaces, rather than true money transmitters.

It was very busy in Washington last week, but the item that produced the most news in the banking world wasn't even on the radar. Attorney General Eric Holder was supposed to talk about drones, but he also made a surprising admission with far-reaching consequences.

Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan, released Tuesday, renews attacks on the Dodd-Frank reform law and government housing policy.

An industry lawyer predicts enforcement actions against banks that allowed automatic withdrawals against their customers' expressed wishes.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House banking panel, is asking whether the Fed can lawfully transfer funds to the CFPB if the agency is without a director.

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., are asking Attorney General Eric Holder to clarify his surprising remarks last week about whether some institutions are too big to prosecute.

Reform efforts could result in a much smaller scope of permissible lending at the FHA, with a renewed focus on its traditional core of low-income customers, higher credit score requirements and increased down payments.

The most notable quotes from American Banker stories of the previous week. Readers are encouraged to add their own observations in the Comments fields at the bottom of each slide.

Attorney General Eric Holder's admission that some banks are effectively "too big to jail" continues to reverberate throughout the banking world, spurring a push-back from industry representatives and concern from House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling.

The Comptroller of the Currency wants banks to hold more capital against mortgages in warehouse lending facilities, but small banks complain it could cripple a vital business.