Regulation

A New Jersey lawyer charged with stealing $1 million from a client has been apprehended in Alabama after an apparent attempt to avoid prosecution.

Lawmakers are near a deal to increase the maximum size of mortgage loans that can be insured by the Federal Housing Administration, a crucial source of mortgages for first-time home buyers, congressional aides said Monday.

The political jousting over the structure and leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues, but the real work of the agency and its professionals has begun. That work will ultimately determine, among other things, whether the CFPB will be a rules-based or enforcement-based agency.

Government-issued payment cards can be fraught with peril, provoking the ire of unemployed and disabled consumers and their advocates, who are increasingly sensitive to being charged bank fees of any kind.

Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown on Monday became the first Senate Republican to endorse the nomination of Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The outcome of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's 'Larger Participant' rule has the potential to level the playing field between the banking industry and an old rival: Wal-Mart.

The Justice Department began sending letters Monday to servicemembers who are entitled to $20 million in damages from Bank of America Corp. for alleged violations of the Servicemember Civil Relief Act.

More banks have sold problem assets to private-equity groups this year, while others unloaded their banks in hopes of unlocking the value in nonperforming assets. Some believe selling bad loans to nonbanks could shore up valuations by removing the challenges of regulatory oversight.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., an aggressive prosecutor of money laundering cases, made a strong appeal Monday for information-sharing between banks and law enforcement.

Judge Jonathan Lippman, regulator Benjamin Lawsky and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are standing up to an industry intent on forgetting that the foreclosure crisis affects real people, real lives and real families.