Regulation

Required by Congress to remove credit ratings from banking rules, regulators have devised a plan anchored in a Paris-based group's rankings that assign zero risk to most European government debt.

Ninety-two banks failed in 2011, well below the previous two years' totals. The list of what regulators call "problem banks" is shrinking. And the latest two bank failures were the first in nearly a month — the longest failure-free period in almost three years.

Michael J. Covatto, president of Unicredit America Inc. when the Erie, Pa. collection agency was accused of using a fake courtroom to intimidate debtors, is declining to answer questions about Unicredit's operations by invoking the Fifth Amendment.

How to handle hot deposits, when to be more forgiving of delinquent customers, why health care reform could yield new opportunities, what the heck is a transaction genome, and other things for bankers to think about in the new year.

A bipartisan bill that will allow banks to appeal examination findings to an outside arbiter aims to resolve complaints that examiners are being too tough.

The idea that small business spurs job growth is a powerful, if not biblical, force in economic theory and public policy. But what if this bedrock belief about the jobs-creating power of small business and isn't true — or, at the very least, is missing a big part of the story?

"The last duty of a central banker is to tell the public the truth." For more than a decade, this provocative quote credited to Alan Blinder has dogged the Princeton economist and former Federal Reserve vice chairman. There's only one problem: he says it's not his.

Where did debit strategies go wrong, and where will they go next? Maria Aspan reports from the ATM, Debit & Prepaid Forum, an annual event with special resonance this time around.

His methods differ from Occupy Wall Street, but his aim is the same: level the playing field within the U.S. financial system. Why bank analyst Mike Mayo may just be the most determined market idealist on Wall Street.

The past year was a mixed bag for bankers. Some found success in picking up market share, or in finally putting federal bailouts into rear view. Others encountered fresh challenges, from run-ins with regulators to the realities of a still-fragile economic recovery. With the new year sure to bring its own mix of achievements, redemption stories and trouble spots, the editors of American Banker offer 10 bank CEOs worth watching in 2012.