Law and regulation

The Treasury Department will receive roughly $204 million from its latest auctions selling off the preferred shares of seven financial institutions from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

John C. Dugan, former comptroller of the currency, and T. Timothy Ryan Jr., former director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, insist that, despite some recent assertions to the contrary, the Dodd-Frank Act really does put end to the too-big-to-fail status of big banks.

During the boom, accounting rules kept banks from building thicker buffers against losses. This left them in a weaker position when the crisis hit. It's time to fix the mistake.

Dodd-Frank-required study finds borrowers are younger and seniors are increasingly taking out bigger loans.

In a startling report, the FHFA's inspector general said that the Home Loan banks extended credit to firms on the brink of failure, in part to make up for declining advances.

Seven months after it was created through the merger of Nara Bancorp and Center Financial, BBCN (BBCN) Bancorp in Los Angeles has repaid the funds its two predecessor companies received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The House took a key step June 27 toward passing bipartisan legislation that would end a rash of lawsuits over missing ATM fee disclosure signs.

Dubious stress test results? External auditors who fail to flag insolvency in advance? The U.S. and U.K. have seen this film before.

The measure, which the bank industry is seeking to end a spate of lawsuits over missing fee-disclosure signs on ATMs, is now on a path to speedy passage by the House.

Unlike last summer, deposit levels have been relatively stable recently as the euro crisis has reached a new crescendo. Either the most nervous money has already fled to the shelter of the bank safety net, or tensions are only just building.

Banks and government agencies face several problems with their plans to rent out their backlog of foreclosed homes, especially if they try to securitize those rentals, according to Morningstar Credit Ratings.

From the CFPB to the FSOC to New York's ban on large soda cups, followers of behavioral theory have gone overboard in their rabid enthusiasm for governmental manipulation.

The Federal Reserve is taking another step to reach out to the public — this time it's educators. The Fed Chairman will sit down for a town hall meeting with teachers in August.

The FDIC's Thomas Hoenig said on a Bloomberg radio program that directors with an appearance of conflicts should relinquish seats on Fed bank boards. The remarks follow others' calls for JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to give up his board seat.

The percentage of delinquent mortgages has fallen to the lowest level in four years due primarily to the strengthening economy, officials with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Wednesday.

The California Supreme Court last week ruled in favor of preemption in a financial services case. The issue doesn't directly involve the Dodd-Frank Act, but has implications for its role in the preemption of state banking laws.

JPMorgan Chase's Chase Paymentech has begun supplying retailers and other merchants with new terminals that can accept payments from smartphones and cards embedded with computer chips.

U.S.-based card networks are making it clear they are hungry for a bigger piece of Canada's debit card market, which is making the nation's merchants nervous.

Led by Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, Senate Democrats called Tuesday stronger protections for members of the military regarding payday loans, private student loans and foreclosures.

The Treasury Department has sent letters to 200 remaining Tarp banks indicating that the agency may auction its stakes as parts of pools this fall. While the move removes the government from the banks, it presents new challenges, particularly for recapitalizations.