Exams

Real regulatory relief for community banks and stricter oversight of the biggest financial firms are steps that can increase investor interest in new banks.

A report by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors found that consolidated companies with money transmitter licenses fell more than 10% from 518 in the first quarter of 2015, to 456 this year.

Requiring the bank regulators to disclose the numerical grades they give for capital, assets and other factors would subject them to the same market discipline they demand for banks.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has charged a Mississippi company with refusing to disclose check-cashing fees to consumers, deceptively pressuring borrowers into taking out multiple payday loans and keeping overpayments.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will propose changes in late July to its mortgage disclosure rule to provide "greater certainty and clarity" to the mortgage industry.

A new conundrum is emerging for cybersecurity-conscious banks: Well-protected information can also be an unwelcome obstacle for regulators.

Bankers blamed regulators' new methodologies for rating certain energy loans – and a new two-stage shared national credit review process – for an increase in downgrades and loan-loss provisions. Regulators reportedly are reacting to an increase in second liens tied to exploration and production companies.

WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators have been asking global banks to draw contingency plans for the possibility of Britain's leaving the European Union, according to a Reuters report.

WASHINGTON — Congress should consider streamlining the financial regulatory structure and give the Financial Stability Oversight Council broader authority to respond to systemic risks, according to a Government Accountability Office report published this week.

WASHINGTON – Four Democratic senators sent a letter on Thursday to federal financial regulators asking for clear guidance on how banks can serve the marijuana industry.