Law and regulation

Tim Pawlenty, the head of the Financial Services Roundtable and former Minneosta governor, sent a letter Monday to President-elect Donald Trump requesting that he take steps to harmonize government cybersecurity requirements.

Republicans say they will roll back regulators' ability to oversee nonbanks once they take full control of the government in January. But what does that mean for agencies' oversight into the eight financial market utilities that operate a key part of the financial system?

Deutsche Bank may reach a deal as early as Wednesday to settle allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice that it misled investors when selling mortgage-backed securities, Reuters reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

One step the government can take is to create a unified office dedicated to housing finance and policy to streamline existing agencies and programs and make them more efficient.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday said Moneytree Inc. mislead consumers about the price of its check-cashing services, falsely threatened to repossess vehicles and withdrew funds from consumers' accounts without authorization.

The transition team for President-elect Donald Trump is considering several candidates to fill key spots at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Housing Administration, including a home builder and former lender.

Much of regtech focuses on automating compliance functions, but the human eye is still needed in some cases. Royal Bank of Canada and D+H have developed an assessment tool designed to help employees do their jobs better.

Although Steven Mnuchin has close ties to Wall Street and was involved in some contentious deals, Democrats face an uphill battle making the case that those connections disqualify him to serve as Treasury secretary.

A federal judge heard arguments from ICBA and NCUA on whether to dismiss the banking group's legal challenge to the credit union regulator's changes to the member business lending rule. A decision on the dismissal could come as early as January.

Borrowers served by the FHA program, particularly first-time buyers and minorities, have benefited from nonbanks' increase in lending. Those independent lenders should be commended for filling a gap.