Law and regulation

Dodd-Frank just turned two, but it'll be old before its time writes Dimitri B. Papadimitriou of Bard College. The legislation falls prey to the same flaw of most financial regulation: aiming to solve the last crisis instead of the next, he argues.

Money funds and non-deposit-taking consumer lenders should be chartered as limited purpose banks by the Fed and CFPB, respectively. This will reduce systemic risk, improve consistency and efficiency, and protect consumers.

The unexpected retirement of Julie Williams, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's second-in-command, raises questions about whether the move was forced and what it says about the agency's future direction.

Three former employees at JPMorgan Chase & Co. branches pleaded guilty on Monday to using the identities of Puerto Rican customers to file fraudulent tax returns.

The complaint against Wells Fargo highlights problems in comparing borrowers from different racial and ethnic groups.

The creation of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and an emphasis from all regulators on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices has created new staffing demands. “Banks are scrambling to find compliance personnel with expertise in consumer protection law,” writes American Banker’s Andy Peters.

Federal investigators charged a Minnesota debt collector with using his access to credit bureaus and consumer databases to steal identities and defraud financial institutions.

Almost two-thirds of small businesses in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's region that sought credit received some form of financing, according to a poll conducted by the bank during the second quarter.

With advances for the Federal Home Loan Banks flat at the end of last quarter compared with yearend 2011, the system gets help from lower OTTI charges and end of thrift-crisis fund.

After Julie Williams, the longtime No. 2 at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, announced she was leaving, one question dominated the resulting discussion: Was she pushed out or did she jump?

This year's drought could cause many farmers to default on ag loans, particularly those tied to livestock. For banks with high concentrations of ag loans, the drought poses the first major credit challenge since the financial crisis.

Ginnie Mae is considering raising minimum net-worth requirements for issuers of its mortgage-backed securities after being deluged with applications from small mortgage banks. Disruptions in the mortgage market prompted the rush.

Julie Williams, one of the nation's pivotal regulators for large banks, announced her departure from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency effective Sept. 30.

C. Boyden Gray, the lawyer involved in the suit challenging the constitutionality of the CFPB, writes in the Washington Times that "the new regulatory regime primarily helps the big banks while placing its heaviest burdens on community banks.”

It's well known in Washington that August is meant to be a dead time, as lawmakers return to their home states to campaign and regulators take the month off. But last week proved the exception to the rule, with action on mortgage servicing, eminent domain and Basel III. Here are some of the highlights:

Regulators currently entrusted with the task of policing Wall Street are facing a well-funded, well-connected and politically shrewd beast.

Many in the industry have criticized the length — 1,400 pages — of the CFPB’s recently proposed rule on mortgage disclosure forms and fees. Why so many pages in order to get simpler forms?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sued banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Citigroup Inc. (C) over $388 million in securities sold to Colonial Bank.

First National Community Bancorp (FNCB) has finally caught up on its financial reports for 2011 — now on to 2012.

Banking trade groups are furious about a move by the National Credit Union Administration to notify more than 1,000 credit unions that they may not need to comply with a cap on business lending.