Law and regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau appointed Kelly Thompson Cochran as acting assistant director for regulations. She’ll be filling the shoes of Leonard Chanin, who is returning to Morrison & Foerster.

In interviews at their convention in Tampa, Republican lawmakers downplayed the chances of a full repeal of Dodd-Frank, but instead said that reining in the new consumer agency and paring back derivatives rules would be goals in 2013.

Credit unions are giddy about a new NCUA rule that says advanced video terminals can be counted as full-fledged service facilities, providing a new way to compete with banks by attracting members in underserved areas.

A number of de novo banks, or those that are seven years old or younger, are facing long delays from regulators when it comes to amending their business plans to allow for bigger growth targets.

Despite warnings of the potential dire consequences, a steady stream of government policies enabled and encouraged banks to make mortgages to people who could not afford them.

Just in case you thought otherwise, the Treasury Department has released an infographic outlining how Wall Street reform helps to strengthen small banks.

The break up with JTH Tax comes months after Kentucky's Republic Bancorp agreed to end its refund-anticipation loan program as part of a settlement with the FDIC.

An estimated 641 collection agencies and creditors were sued in the first half of August as the pace for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act cases picks up, according to U.S. district courts.

Should San Bernardino's plan to seize underwater mortgages through eminent domain move forward, its home values would likely plummet and local credit would dry up.

Mitt Romney is not against banking regulation per se, he explained to Time magazine last week.

In two lengthy interviews, John Walsh, the acting head of the OCC for nearly two years, offers his candid views on a range of subjects, including the FSOC's effectiveness and the reform idea he believes is "something worth dying for."

Few banks with trust-preferred debt would fall below the Basel III capital minimum without the securities. Many are using the phase-out as an opportunity to retire the high-cost funding.

The real-estate industry is using this week's Republican convention to flex its political muscles, defending the tax deduction for mortgage interest and calling for changes to the qualified residential mortgage exception.

The central bank's most recent Beige Book finds disparities both between and within regional districts about the appetite for new loans.

The Treasury Department has released an infographic outlining how the financial reform legislation helps to strengthen Main Street banks. Do you agree Dodd-Frank creates a level playing field for financial institutions?

Citigroup agreed Wednesday to pay $590 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit over its disclosures about subprime mortgage exposure. The sum is large but in keeping with what some banks have paid to put the crisis years behind them.

A preliminary report from the independent monitor shows that the five servicers in the $25 billion mortgage-settlement pact are so far focusing more on short sales than on loan mods or refis.

The Volcker rule's liquidity account exemption is stirring debate. Some say it would allow for trades like JPMorgan's infamous "London Whale." Others argue it needs to be expanded in order to be effective in letting banks manage liquidity risk.

Calls from various constituencies in the business to establish a single mortgage-backed security are sensible. But why stop there?

In a series of letters, the agency asked Assurant to break out revenues in states investigating the industry and assess the effect such probes would have on its bottom line.