Law and regulation

The Federal Reserve Board has lifted a written agreement with Tower Financial that required the Fort Wayne, Ind., company to improve its lending and credit administration.

WASHINGTON — Twelve Democratic senators have called for a U.S. investigation into any role banks and regulators may have played in the scandal over the London Interbank Offered Rate.

If the CFTC and self-regulatory organizations couldn't protect MF Global and Peregrine customers' money, how will they fare policing the $300 trillion swaps market?

Four out of five banks that closed important deals last week did so in four months or less. First PacTrust, which is new to getting M&A approval from regulators, needed 10 months to close one deal and has another pending after more than a year.

"The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 included a provision protecting whistleblowers at publicly traded companies from retaliation. Dodd-Frank spelled out that the provision also protects employees of wholly owned subsidiaries of public companies. The question remained, however, whether that protection applies retroactively,” writes law.com.

Settlement with San Francisco bank is second-largest fair-lending case following Justice Department's deal with Countrywide last year.

The only beneficiary of this well-intended but misguided regulation appears to be a small group of lawyers bringing costly lawsuits.

When smaller financial institutions, such as credit unions, are inundated with regulations from multiple agencies simultaneously, their ability to meet the needs of members is hampered and services are curtailed.

Banks are allowed to pass on costs related to FDIC premiums, but the agency is warning the industry that expressly designating an 'FDIC fee' has consequences.

How ironic to see banks complain about being victimized by nuisance lawsuits filed by consumers over missing warning notices at ATMs – notices that were required to stop banks from victimizing consumers with nuisance charges at ATMs.

San Bernardino County is weighing a controversial plan to use eminent domain to modify underwater mortgages, even as the county’s largest city seeks bankruptcy.

A fraud case that contributed to the recent failure of Montgomery Bank in Georgia could lead to more regulatory scrutiny when community banks look for outside investors.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office has secured a judgment against Michael J. Covatto, the former president of defunct collection agency Unicredit America Inc., that means he will owe money to the state and possibly Unicredit's former debtors.

The qualified mortgage definition was the topic of a House subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, part of a six-hearing campaign by Republicans challenging Dodd-Frank.

Gearing up for the two-year anniversary of Dodd-Frank House Republican's launched a campaign "to convince the electorate that Dodd-Frank's rules are hurting everyday Americans rather than just the financial sector,” writes American Banker’s Kevin Wack.

A new museum exhibit chronicles the history of New York's banking scene.

San Bernardino County is forging ahead with deliberations on a proposal to seize underwater mortgages, despite its largest city's decision to seek bankruptcy. But industry members say the bankruptcy could interrupt funding for the plan.

With new entrants from China, fresh capital could be made available to entrepreneurs and business owners who otherwise might fail to find financing. Also, remember the fears in the 1980s that the Japanese were buying up America?

Dozens of small banks have substantially increased commercial and industrial lending over the past few years. Supervisors are worried that some may be chasing unfamiliar business down a blind alley.

International Bancshares (IBOC) in Laredo, Texas, has repurchased $40 million of preferred stock that it issued to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.