Law and regulation

Loan demand tracked the overall U.S. economy in June and the first half of July as growth was slight and spotty, the Federal Reserve Board reported Wednesday.

Jeremiah Norton expressed empathy for smaller banks during his first public remarks since joining the FDIC in April. Still, he rejected calls to delay implementation of Basel III capital requirements.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its first enforcement action Wednesday, ordering Capital One Bank N.A. to pay $165 million for what the agency described as deceptive marketing tactics related to various credit card products.

Texas lawmaker says transparency of central bank is insufficient and Congress should get a "backbone." But Fed chairman counters that required audit could subject decisions to political influence.

The majority of likely voters, regardless of party affiliation, support the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a poll organized by consumer advocates.

U.S. Bancorp executives view the issuer's portion of the proposed $7.25 billion swipe-fee settlement, which some merchants are fighting, as an expense already incurred.

The Federal Reserve Board has entered into a written agreement with TCB Holding that requires the Woodlands, Texas, company to serve as a source of strength for its bank.

Visa Europe should match MasterCard's lower fees for credit cards to settle a European Union antitrust investigation, the EU’s antitrust chief said.

Two years after Dodd-Frank became law, the banking system continues to lack the basic tenants of transparency into the workings of the largest institutions and the good governance that comes with strong board oversight.

Mete out fitting punishments and get it over with. There are much more urgent issues in front of us.

The Durbin amendment in Dodd-Frank eliminated debit-network exclusivity, prompting heightened competition among the electronic funds transfer networks.The NYCE network, which is owned by FIS, already has benefited.

HSBC executives, grilled by the Senate over anti-money laundering lapses, have become a study of what happens when a bank mismanages risk.

Consumer bureau, working in conjunction with OCC, orders Capital One to pay $210 million for deceptive credit-card marketing practices.

Firms may abandon prudent risk management practices such as hedging with derivatives to avoid the SIFI designation. Agencies should have to prepare the equivalent of an Environmental Impact Statement before slapping the SIFI stamp on a firm.

Finally, senior policymakers are focusing on negative equity. But the answer to the problem is to change borrowers' incentives, not to abrogate contract and property rights.

"Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, is locked in a tight reelection race against Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg," writes American Banker’s Kevin Wack.

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging that National Credit Adjusters has illegally sought to collect on payday loan debts in the state.

Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry is trying to create a tougher, more ethical agency, he testified Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

Compliance chiefs at other banks should roll video of a Senate panel's grilling of HSBC executives about anti-money-laundering failures when they want to demonstrate the consequences of mismanaging risk.

The Florida bank is eager to add loans after raising $5 million to surpass capital requirements from a 2011 consent order. It did so at a time when capital raising is on the decline.