Regulation

Former Federal Reserve Gov. Jeremy Stein has agreed to consult for hedge fund BlueMountain Capital Management, the fund announced Tuesday.

By poaching Ruth Porat from Morgan Stanley, it's clear Google wants to forge closer relationships with banks. That's because banks hold the key to helping Google expand its Google Wallet mobile-payments product.

Deron Smithy, executive vice president and treasurer of Regions Financial, said compliance costs across the 20 regional banks that are above the target have jumped by $2 billion, with his bank alone spending roughly $200 million.

Federal regulators on Tuesday pushed back against the perception that they are cracking down harder on Bank Secrecy Act violations, saying they have not made recent changes to the rules or how they enforce them.

WASHINGTON — House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, announced a vote for Thursday of 11 bills aimed at lessening regulatory burden on banks by changing aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act and associated regulations.

While many small banks are hoping Congress will grant regulatory relief this year, mutual institutions are seeking two specific changes they hope can bolster their struggling business.

M&T Bank and Hudson City Bancorp plan to mail ballots this week to shareholders asking for approval of the companies' planned merger.

Bank regulators rejected three foreign banking organizations' resolution plans — so-called "living wills" — that were submitted last year, finding "shortcomings" and ordering the institutions to make certain improvements when they resubmit their plans this year.

Claire Cockerton of U.K. trade group Innovate Finance explains how technology can rehabilitate the global banking industry's reputation, how London became a financial technology hub and why Mayor Boris Johnson was plugging startups in New York last month.

Regulatory approval of Primary Bank in New Hampshire does not make a trend, but observers are hopeful it signals a more promising near future for the chartering of new banks.