Law and regulation

Members of the GOP-controlled House once again debated the impact — and potential pitfalls — of a section of the Dodd-Frank Act, with the subject du jour concerning so-called QM regulation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed two new rules regarding mortgages. One is intended to simply mortgage forms and disclosures. The second would lower broaden the definition of a "high-cost loan" and tighten the rules for them.

If the government could eliminate contract rights in this way, then it would be hard to imagine what contracts could not be set aside in the name of market efficiency.

The government has failed to publicly vet its use of auctions to dispose of its remaining Troubled Asset Relief Program holdings. That leaves too many questions unanswered about its exit plans.

John Allison, the former chairman and CEO of BB&T, recently agreed to become the president and CEO of the Cato Institute, a leading libertarian think tank. He joins a growing list of former bank executives who are trying their hand at something totally unrelated to banking.

Barb Pacheco of the Kansas City Fed is keeping a close eye on mobile payment innovation, to help steer the course of new initiatives and to determine what regulators' role will be.

The real losers would be the biggest banks, the holders of second liens, not investors in first mortgages. Those investors might come out ahead, and homeowners and municipalities certainly would.

The new message focuses on a targeted approach to repealing certain provisions — rather than the whole law — and trying to convince everyday Americans they too will suffer the consequences of new rules for the financial industry.

Dodd-Frank rules on swaps can move forward now that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission voted on the definition of such trades.

Architects of the emerging mobile-payments industry may not have bargained on potentially significant regulations some legal experts are envisioning for it.

Federal bank regulators Tuesday recommended that financial institutions take special precaution when using third-party cloud computing services.

The House voted unanimously late Monday to repeal the nearly 20-year-old requirement that automated teller machines have physical placards notifying users of fees.

Sen. Carl Levin's investigations subcommittee plans to use British bank as example of money-laundering risks that face big global banks.

WASHINGTON – The House easily approved a bill July 9 that would eliminate the requirement for the on-machine second fee disclosure at ATMs, the source of a growing number of legal claims against deployers of the machines.

Senate Banking Committee chairman raises concerns about growing scandal and says lawmakers may question top U.S. officials on the matter later this month.

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) said that it will use available cash to redeem $862.5 million in outstanding trust-preferred securities next month.

"Isn't it true that there has never been a major crisis that resulted from excessive exposures to what was considered risky, and that these have always resulted from excessive exposures to what was perceived as not risky?"

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made two significant decisions for examinations: to hire a large portion of examiners from outside of the other federal financial regulatory agencies and to bring lawyers along at the beginning.

Legal Helpers Debt Resolution LLC, a Chicago-based law firm, has settled a lawsuit filed in early 2011 by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The suit alleged that Legal Helpers unlawfully charged consumers upfront fees to provide debt settlement services.

In a Q&A on the eve of the CFPB's first anniversary, Director Richard Cordray explains why consumer complaints should be publicly released, and why the pending qualified mortgage plan needs more time.