Regulation

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction off its preferred shares in 11 more institutions that remain in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Bankers urged their counterparts to rally against Basel III and other regulations at the American Bankers Association conference in San Diego. In contrast, regulators tried to convince bankers that their voices would be heard in Washington.

Commercial banks donated significant amounts of money to some of the most critical -- and most hotly contested -- congressional races this year.

And for the same reason those guarantees were limited and temporary – namely, moral hazard – TAG should not be extended.

The FTC charged an Ohio-based company and its owner with fraudulently claiming on 17 Web sites they operated that consumers could quickly get out of debt by working with one of several debt settlement companies.

Lenders and consumer advocates are critical of a probable CFPB compromise in which lenders get safe habor from ability-to-pay lawsuits for all "qualified mortgages" except for those with subprime interest rates.

The Bipartisan Policy Center on Thursday will launch its Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative, which will assess the law's effectiveness and recommend improvements in a report expected next fall.

Control of the Senate remains up for grabs, and there are several tight races that could be key for the banking industry.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis was arrested for allegedly plotting to bomb the New York Federal Reserve in lower Manhattan as part of a sting operation by federal authorities who provided the suspect with fake explosives.

The industry must work much harder to restore its reputation after this year's scandals, HSBC USA CEO Irene Dorner said Tuesday, in a speech that was part rally and part reprimand to bankers.