Law and regulation

Impending rules on how banks must handle certain transactions is one of the main factors prompting JPMorgan to combine units. Parts of the company handling securities, derivatives and back-end support started functioning as one group on Friday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took two major steps toward reshaping the nation's residential mortgage market Monday, proposing revised mortgage disclosure requirements as well as stricter limits on high-cost loans.

Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the former chief executive officer of American International Group Inc., said it is "outrageous" that lawmakers demanded JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon testify about trading losses.

Loans made through the Small Business Lending Fund continued their climb in the first quarter, rising by $433 million compared with the fourth quarter of 2011, the Treasury Department said.

Instead of excessive scrutiny of what Jamie Dimon says about the company's $2 billion-plus trading loss, time might be better spent in analyzing JPMorgan Chase's mortgage revenue, net interest margins and sources of long-term profits — and what it all says about the future of banking.

The Treasury Department will auction off its stakes in a dozen more banks as it works to aggressively wind down the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

In a bid to avoid the regulatory capture that's crippled other agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is hiring outside the usual places and thinking outside the box.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has terminated a consent order with Northwest Savings Bank that had required the Warren, Pa., bank to strengthen various parts of its consumer compliance management system.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received mostly positive reviews. But complaints of inexperienced examiners and confrontational exams stem from the fledgling agency's effort to set itself apart from traditional banking regulators.

Labeling a quarter of the U.S. population as un- or underbanked may be derisive, but naming rights still go to those who control the financial services market – banks.

Banks are worried that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is placing too much emphasis on the stressful years of the financial crisis in determining lenders' concentration of high-risk loans.

Authorities are searching for Aubrey Lee Price, a former director of Montgomery Bank & Trust, on charges that he bilked investors out of $40 million since 2008.

Unreasonably high taxes generate less, not more revenue for governments. Likewise, banks might make more money with lower fees, and become more compliant and less hated.

The FDIC is backing away from covering losses, Countrywide's VIP program benefits members of Congress, an 'abusive' practice is defined, nine of the largest banks detail how to take them apart if they fail, and the OCC releases a report detailing every risk facing banks. Here are the Top 5 Washington stories last week.

The House Oversight Committee last week released a 136-page report that seems likely to be the final word on the Countrywide VIP mortgage scandal. Here is a summary of what the report says about seven current and former members of Congress, along with their responses.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is scheduled Tuesday to consider whether banks with under $10 billion in assets will be exempt from Dodd-Frank requirements to conduct swap trades through clearinghouses.

The National Credit Union Administration announced Saturday morning the completion of its liquidation of WesCorp FCU, marking the end of the most costly failure in credit union history.

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed Montgomery Bank & Trust in Ailey on Friday. Ameris Bank in Moultrie, Ga., agreed to assume all of the bank's $164.4 million in deposits.

A new congressional report provides a comprehensive look into how Countrywide used its VIP program to win friends in Washington.

We know all about the "Friends of Angelo," those political insiders who got sweetheart mortgages from Countrywide. But what about the poor schlubs who aren't worth former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo's affection? Well, they finally have a leader.