Law and regulation

Fannie Mae named its general counsel, Timothy Mayopoulos, as its next chief executive after he agreed to a sharp pay cut imposed by the mortgage-finance company's federal regulator.

Joseph Smith, who is responsible for monitoring the 49-state mortgage servicing settlement, plans to spread the work among multiple consulting firms.

In April the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a statement that it was adopting the "disparate impact" concept in its enforcement of the anti-discrimination provisions of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. It is doing so in a manner consistent with an Interagency Policy Statement issued in 1994 by the Department of Justice and other federal agencies involved with the enforcement of fair lending laws.

When a California bank took a former employee to court over his insulting statements on the Internet, an appellate court said his speech was protected from prosecution.

Recent delays by the CFPB and Treasury point toward a systemic policy malaise that threatens to make the housing recovery a decade-long event.

CresCom Bank in South Carolina filed a debt collection lawsuit against Myrtle Beach, S.C. automobile dealer Lavin Sales Inc. and co-owners, John and Howie Lavin, claiming the men and the business defaulted on two loans totaling more than $3.1 million.

As head of the Mortgage Bankers Association, David H. Stevens spent the last year warning that excessive and ill-considered regulation could drag down the mortgage market. As the new head of SunTrust Mortgage, he'll have to face that regulation head-on.

The Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it plans to sell off its shares in seven more community banks as part of its ongoing effort to wind down the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

More than 30 state trade associations have joined the Independent Community Bankers of America in urging Congress to extend the Transaction Account Guarantee program, which offers banks unlimited deposit insurance on transaction accounts.

J.P. Morgan Securities could pay up to $44.6 million for allegedly manipulating municipal bond contracts in a proposed settlement the JPMorgan Chase (JPM) unit reached with municipal bond issuers.

On the same day the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced a board meeting next week to discuss Basel III capital rules, agency officials Tuesday said most community banks are already in solid position to comply with new requirements.

An effort is gaining momentum to require banks that want municipal business to lend more in low-income neighborhoods. And it's not just mega-banks being targeted — smaller banks are seen as fairing worse in this type of lending.

The OCC promoted David Wilson to oversee national banks supervision, even though he's married to a B of A exec. It then quietly reversed itself later, raising new questions about its coziness with the banks it regulates.

Josef Ackermann, who stepped down late last week as CEO of Deutsche Bank, opined late Monday on the fate of Europe, the Euro and how he thinks political leaders should move forward.

The OCC promoted David Wilson to oversee supervision policy for all national banks, even though he is married to a high-level executive at Bank of America. Although it quietly reversed itself later, the incident raises more questions about how close the agency is to the banks it regulates.

BDO Consulting was hired as the primary firm responsible for monitoring compliance with the $25 billion settlement.

Large banks generally have tackled new rules requiring ATMs to have voice-navigation features for the visually impaired, but for small banks it's another story.

A significant reason JPMorgan Chase can't be regulated effectively is that its size, amplified by the CEO's voice, puts the bank above and beyond the reach of regulators, writes Andrew Kahr.

In an effort to coordinate with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, regulators moved ahead with an agreement that will minimize duplicative efforts and regulatory burden on institutions with $10 billion or more in assets.

It's official. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Securities and Exchange Commission have the same watchdog monitoring their work, temporarily at least.