Regulation

Last week saw a sudden burst of activity as Congress returned after the elections. But lawmakers weren’t the only ones making news, as the CFPB, FHA and Fed also dominated headlines. Following is the most critical stories of regulation and reform

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission are investigating 51 nonbank firms involved in mortgage lending or other areas of the housing market.

Capital is just not an issue for these banks. All the capital they may ever need is a phone call and wire transfer away.

John Allison, former chairman and chief executive of BB&T, made a pitch to abolish the Federal Reserve at a Dodd-Frank Act seminar.

Joseph Smith, who is monitoring the $25 billion national mortgage settlement agreement, says he is "encouraged" by banks' progress, but he cautioned that their numbers fail to take into account that short sales carry less weight in certain states.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a stark warning to mortgage lenders and brokers on Monday, arguing they must stop running "potentially misleading advertisements," including those targeting veterans and older Americans.

Instead of pushing to avoid risk retention or liability for future frauds, banks that want to originate and sell mortgages should focus on containing and rolling back the disparate impact doctrine, which seems sure to savage them.

The FHA's mission to promote housing has contributed to its downfall in addressing its other mission: to maintain fiscal discipline of the mortgage insurance fund.

The growth in hedge funds, private equity firms and other entities outside the regular banking system is leading one global group to call for stricter oversight of non-bank entities.

Regulators offer relief with Basel III delay, the Federal Housing Administration falters, credit card ad wars heat up.