Law and legal issues

If HSBC reaches an agreement with the government, it could give an early indication of how the Trump administration will levy financial penalties.

Executives at four former credit repair companies agree to pay $2 million for charging consumers millions in illegal advance fees.

A federal appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in August in a decade-old case against the San Francisco bank that could cost it hundreds of millions in penalties and restitution.

For Democrats, the scandal is a prominent symbol of big-bank misbehavior, while Republicans want to use it to show the shortcomings of the CFPB.

Readers chime in on the GSE conservatorships, bitcoin’s future, regulatory relief for regional banks, a recent Supreme Court ruling on debt collection, and more.

The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing JPMorgan Chase of violating the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against fathers when they ask for parental leave.

Banks and other firms collecting defaulted debt originated by another company are not subject to the kinds of restrictions placed on third-party debt collectors, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in a unanimous decision.

Litigation is soaking up a significant share of resources at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which faces at least a dozen cases challenging its constitutionality and a surging number of legal disputes to its enforcement actions.

The trade group filed a brief backing an effort by the American Bankers Association to push back against the NCUA's planned revisions to field-of-membership regulation.

The ICBA has filed a supporting brief to the American Banker's Association's FOM suit against NCUA, but a rapid decision is unlikely, and the case has already dragged on longer than the bankers' MBL suit.

More business lending is shifting from banks to "murky" trusts as the government imposes more restrictions to reduce risky loans; 11 states advance suit as Justice Department retreats.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the direct crosshairs of a federal lawsuit questioning its leadership structure. But it might be the independence of all federal agencies on trial.

Auditors performing a review of Ocwen Financial padded time sheets and claimed excessive and improper expenses, including lengthy travel and meals at strip clubs and casinos, according to a lawsuit filed against Fidelity Information Services.

Grow Financial alleges that a former employee stole private credit union information and passed it on to GTE prior to obtaining a job there.

A federal appeals court appears to be leaning toward a ruling in favor of the CFPB in a case about its single-director structure.

While CUs welcome the changes to the appeals process, the merger transparency rule is sure to raise a few eyebrows.

Appeals court justices appeared divided on whether the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is constitutional during oral arguments in the PHH v. CFPB case on Wednesday.

The case, PHH Corp. v. CFPB, is being watched closely because depending on the outcome, it could give President Trump the power to immediately fire Richard Cordray, the CFPB's director.

The Trump administration’s examination of Dodd-Frank Act powers to allow regulators to seize and unwind a failing megabank is drawing criticism from supervisors at home and abroad.

Bradley Linskens, the former top examiner of Wells Fargo at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, sued the agency Tuesday over records requests he had made related to his removal earlier this year.