Regulation

WASHINGTON — Michigan-based Flagstar Bank will be required to pay $37.5 million in restitution and fines over regulatory allegations it blocked struggling homeowners from receiving foreclosure relief, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday.

Banks are likely to reconsider product strategies associated with minimum balance requirements and earnings credit features as they prepare to comply with Basel III.

The DOJ wants the banks it threatens with litigation to admit accountability, pay hefty penalties and takes steps to satisfy the public thirst for payback. But the financial system would be better served if the bulk of regulation was left to the banking agencies.

The CFPB's very public concerns regarding both auto lending and add-on products has led observers to conclude the agency will soon focus specifically on add-on products tied to auto loans, such as extended warranties and theft-prevention services.

Banks, credit unions, payday lenders and installment lenders are likely to feel the impact of restrictions on loans to members of the military that the Defense Department has proposed.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in August issued eight consent orders and one civil money penalty, according to its latest monthly roundup of enforcement actions released Friday.

Columbia University's Rare Book & Manuscript Library is now the keeper of ledgers, meetings minutes and correspondence covering the years in which The Clearing House Association helped steer the country's banking system through financial turmoil.

Bank of America's recent mortgage settlement with the DOJ includes a number of striking admissions about its underwriting and origination process in the run-up to the financial crisis. These facts may provide banks and correspondent lenders facing buyback demands with a fresh line of defense.

First Republic Bank in San Francisco expects its four-quarter average assets to reach $50 billion late next year.

Credit cards and installment loans that are sold to active-duty military members would be subject to a series of consumer protections under the new Defense Department proposal. High-cost lenders easily evaded the earlier rules, which applied more narrowly.