Regulation

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has expanded the global reach of its payment cards while also preparing to provide new technology to clients in the Single Euro Payments Area who will soon deal with far more cross-border payments.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. urged bank CEOs to watch out for middlemen seeking upfront fees to connect them with capital because, it says, many are frauds. The alert should have come sooner, some industry officials say.

As the HSBC hearings demonstrate, there's a growing expectation that individuals, not just institutions, will be held accountable. Recent enforcement actions also show a more risk-based, rather than rules-based, approach.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Thursday a stymied plan by U.S. regulators to reform money market mutual funds must be allowed to move forward.

Visa Inc.'s debit card payment volume declined again during the quarter ended June 30 as a result of a new debit network routing rule, but the worst effects of that trend are over, according to Visa CEO Joe Saunders.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) was against Dodd-Frank when he was in the conference committee for the bill and he continues to be critical of the legislation

Bank industry officials acknowledge that the measure is unlikely to become law, but they hope it sends a message to the Obama administration.

Navy Federal's strategy gives everyone else in the industry yet another way to get around the cap. Puzzlingly, some credit unions relentlessly press for legislation.

Citigroup vice chairman Michael Helfer on Thursday called efforts by regulators to require plans by financial institutions on how they would be unwound as "valuable," despite complaints that have been lodged against the effort.

Phil Gramm, the former U.S. senator who helped write the 1999 law that enabled the creation of financial giants such as Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., said his legislation didn't make the system any riskier.