Regulation

The percentage of delinquent mortgages has fallen to the lowest level in four years due primarily to the strengthening economy, officials with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Wednesday.

The California Supreme Court last week ruled in favor of preemption in a financial services case. The issue doesn't directly involve the Dodd-Frank Act, but has implications for its role in the preemption of state banking laws.

JPMorgan Chase's Chase Paymentech has begun supplying retailers and other merchants with new terminals that can accept payments from smartphones and cards embedded with computer chips.

U.S.-based card networks are making it clear they are hungry for a bigger piece of Canada's debit card market, which is making the nation's merchants nervous.

Led by Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, Senate Democrats called Tuesday stronger protections for members of the military regarding payday loans, private student loans and foreclosures.

The Treasury Department has sent letters to 200 remaining Tarp banks indicating that the agency may auction its stakes as parts of pools this fall. While the move removes the government from the banks, it presents new challenges, particularly for recapitalizations.

WASHINGTON — Bankers' banks have joined the list of supporters for an extension of the transaction account guarantee program, which provides unlimited deposit insurance for noninterest bearing checking accounts.

PNC Financial Services Group has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a class action relating to its overdraft protection practices.

The banking industry, facing a rash of lawsuits over fee-disclosure signs on ATMs, is hoping for help this week both from Congress and the Supreme Court.

The company's fixed network fee penalizes merchants that route debit transactions to any competing network, and subverts the competition that the Durbin amendment was designed to foster.