Regulation

Every year, despite the risks and high costs, millions of Americans turn to payday loans for emergency funds. To date, a top-down, regulatory approach has been the primary means of addressing the downsides of the payday lending industry. To improve protection of consumers and encourage this industry to mature, such regulation should be joined by efforts that encourage market transparency.

Despite strong bipartisan support, a bill that would provide banks greater assurance of confidentiality when they provide information to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remains mired in the Senate.

"It is about saving the financial economy, not saving a firm," says Jim Wigand, the 28-year FDIC veteran tasked by Congress with ending Too-Big-to-Fail bailouts.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, the U.K.'s second-biggest government-backed lender, suspended at least two derivatives traders in a probe of potential interest-rate manipulation, two people briefed on the matter said.

Lawmakers hear of unintended consequences from shared-equity transactions designed to dispose of excess failed-bank assets.

I was surprised and disappointed by Jim Well's BankThink piece"Are Small Banks Big Banks' Pawns in Assault on Dodd-Frank?". As chair of the American Bankers Association's Community Bankers Council, I have the honor and responsibility of being a spokesperson for the community banking industry. I take this job seriously, and took great care to report on the growing regulatory burden that is suffocating our nation's small — but vital — financial institutions.

On Tuesday, Wells Fargo took its shot at overturning a landmark 2010 district court judgment against its overdraft fees and practices.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus defended JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday from criticism of its $2 billion trading loss.

Possible violations of state and federal laws could jeopardize Costco's mortgage partnership program with several small banks. Some lawyers believe Costco should become a registered mortgage broker to comply with existing regulations.

Operational risk has replaced credit risk as the major safety and soundness challenge for national banks, Comptroller Thomas Curry said at a speech in Washington on Wednesday.