Law and regulation

Maryland residents who were part of a class-action lawsuit against several collection agencies will have their debts erased and lawsuits against them dropped, according to a settlement.

The inclusion of secondary capital as part of credit unions' net worth would give them yet another unfair regulatory advantage over banks.

Treasury is offering to sell $18 billion of American International Group shares in a transaction that will cut the U.S. stake in the firm to below 50% for the first time since its 2008 bailout.

Cashmere Valley Bank in Washington State is a case study of a small bank grappling with the regulatory uncertainties of Dodd-Frank implementation. And it is one of many banks that have looked outside its own IT department for help.

Global Financial Markets Association, which represents the banking industry in Brussels, Washington and Hong Kong, says major financial benchmarks should be regulated following the Libor-rigging scandal.

Advanced encryption methods, mobile payment security and various other technologies figure to be major topics once again when the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council's participants meet this week.

Even with Wall Street and consumer advocates allied in pushing for it, a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to raise standards for brokers advising retail investors has run aground.

The FDIC issued four consent orders against banks in July, after doling out three a month earlier. The agency used to hand out 10 or more a month.

WASHINGTON — State regulators closed First Commercial Bank in Bloomington, Minn., late Friday in the industry's 41st failure this year.

Regulators lifted an enforcement action against Anchor Bank in Lacey, Wash., and replaced it with a softer one.

There is still some hope to save Basel III, if regulators show a willingness to accept the reality that true harmonization is likely unachievable, according to a new paper by analyst Karen Shaw Petrou.

Mortgage Resolution Partners, the firm pushing municipalities to seize loans for borrowers owing more than their homes' values, said it would expand its proposed program to include delinquent and defaulted debt.

Under pressure from a regulator solely focused on protecting the consumers' financial interest, many banks have started abandoning suspect practices. Let’s keep it that way.

Virtual Piggy will integrate its youth payments technology into skateboard brand GoldCoast's e-commerce system.

The Financial Stability Board has set a March deadline for financial companies to have "legal entity identifiers," in place for use in transactions. These codes, something like a social security number for banks, are to be used by the Office of Financial Research, created by Dodd-Frank, to spot systemic risk.

When Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin bragged about his vote against the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, it inadvertently highlighted other Dems, like Vice President Joe Biden, who voted the other way.

An educational computer game from Visa and the National Football League allows players to move up and down the field and score points by correctly answering questions that test their financial literacy.

Rep. Barney Frank blasted Mitt Romney, who has said he would repeal the Dodd-Frank Act, at a speech in Charlotte, reports American Banker’s Kevin Wack.

Unpredictable card terms and conditions make it hard for small-business owners to budget. If they can't allocate funds with confidence, they're less likely to hire employees, hurting the economy.

M&T's bid for Hudson City has the deal world abuzz with talk of who'll be next. The Fed, meanwhile, is trying to calm angry community bankers as the entire industry mulls the implications of the November election.