Regulation

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday released the last details of how two mortgage servicers — Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Finance Corp. — plan to fix problems in their home loan servicing and foreclosure processes.

As the potential end of unlimited deposit insurance for noninterest bearing accounts nears, industry observer weigh in on what could to happen to those deposits. Some see the Dec. 31 end of the program as a 'litmus test' for Too Big To Fail and an opportunity for smaller banks.

Esther George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, defended the current structure of the central bank system, arguing that bankers should keep their seats on the boards of the 12 regional Fed banks.

A small Florida bank has refused to sign an enforcement order that would require it to beef up its capital reserves and reduce its risk, and now its state regulator is asking the courts to step in.

The General Court in Luxembourg Thursday upheld a 2007 European Commission ban on MasterCard Europe's cross-border multilateral interchange fees levied on retailers' debit and credit card transactions. Its decision could have consequences for the U.S.

The CFPB issued a proposal Thursday laying out the steps it will take to designate certain nonbanks for supervision if they pose a risk to consumers.

Certain loans were well underwritten and structured, and are underperforming now solely because of job losses. Drastic approaches like modifications and refis are unnecessary to help these ordinarily creditworthy homeowners.

With profits rising to a "post-crisis high," the FDIC says loan balances fell in the first quarter. But with banks selling off loans and balances affected by seasonal factors, the direction of lending growth is unclear.

Traditionally Americans have opposed the establishment of single governmental body with jurisdiction over all aspects of the financial system. Instead we have favored a decentralized system with different regulatory agencies for different types of financial activities and institutions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s threshold for what constitutes larger participant status in the debt collection industry, based on gross annual receipts, is considered too low by ACA International and DBA International.