Law and regulation

Private mortgage insurers are seeking a larger share of the credit risk on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-guaranteed loans.

While migration to cards with chip technology should help mitigate card fraud, additional steps by retailers and more layers of security are needed.

Credit Agricole agreed to pay $787 million to U.S. regulators and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department to resolve allegations the French bank violated sanctions aimed at Iran and Sudan.

Bank of New York Mellon won final approval of a $180 million settlement with investors who claimed they lost money amid allegations the bank had defrauded clients in foreign-exchange transactions for as long as a decade.

Housing finance reform in Congress is stalled, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (often under pressure from their regulator) are forming partnerships, developing new products and finding ways to share risk with the private sector to correct flaws in the housing system.

A federal appeals court has dealt the retail sector a setback in the ongoing fight over surcharges on credit card purchases.

Presidential candidates shouldn’t rely on crowd-pleasing gimmicks or trick plays to reform the banking system, but the execution of the basics. This means focusing on the time-tested risk-return tradeoff and restructuring our existing deposit insurance system to be truly risk based.

David H. Stevens, the Mortgage Bankers Association's president, pledged to "shine an aggressive spotlight on abusive enforcement" at the trade group's annual gathering, specifically calling out the Department of Justice.

The government's spotlight on servicing problems means companies should be taking steps now in the face of regulators' current enforcement authority and the potential of coming rules.

Mortgage servicers have gotten a rare reprieve from the Federal Housing Administration.