Regulation

In responding to a fan Monday on Twitter, Rowling was asked the full name of the character "Moaning Myrtle," a ghost that haunts Hogwarts, where Harry Potter goes to school. Rowling's reply raised a few eyebrows.

Most banks appear to be coping well with the CFPB's ability-to-repay rule for mortgages, but the burden is falling harder on community banks. A new proposal that would allow more small lenders to grant home loans to borrowers with high levels of debt could help.

Investor-owned ratings agencies would send a message to mutual fund shareholders, retirement plan participants and other investors that steps have been taken to avoid repeating the inaccurate ratings that contributed so heavily to the financial crisis.

The Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation closed the $90 million-asset Edgebrook Bank in Chicago on Friday.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby announced Friday he was pushing back a planned vote on regulatory relief until May 21. The move came just after panel Democrats said they would oppose the bill because they had not yet seen it.

WASHINGTON — Jeremiah Norton, a board member on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., will be stepping down on June 5, the agency said late Friday.

The administration's signature loan modification and refinancing programs will be extended for one year to help borrowers "who continue to face challenges," the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice are taking a renewed interest in redlining, the practice of lenders charging more for products or excluding altogether minorities within certain geographic areas — and their findings may be surprising.

WASHINGTON — All 10 Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee sent a joint letter Friday that said they plan to oppose a regulatory relief bill scheduled for a panel vote next week since Republicans have not yet provided legislative language to all members.

Trading of securities backed by Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie is down sharply since the beginning of the year. Bankers' concerns about capital and rates are among the reasons, and the problem may ultimately make the underlying market for mortgages less liquid.