Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — The big question following JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s now-notorious derivative trade is whether it would have been permitted under the so-called 'Volcker Rule.' But the answer is clear cut to an advocacy group that has led calls for regulatory restrictions after the 2008 crisis.

More than two-dozen have already announced that would stop filing reports with the regulator and many more could follow as they aim to cut costs.

Allegations of kickbacks, exorbitant premiums are the focus of three days of hearings that have bankers and insurers in the hot seat.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Michael Johanns, R-Neb., on May17 introduced a bipartisan bill that would end the requirement for dual fee disclosures at ATMs and require only the on-screen disclosure.

Editor's Note, July 25, 2012: This and other BankThink opinion columns written by Joel Sucher bearing this note, published between October 2011 and June 2012, mentioned the law firm of Stephen J. Baum, Litton Loan Servicing, or both. The columns should have disclosed that Baum’s firm, working on behalf of Litton, had attempted to foreclose on the writer’s property in 2009. American Banker's editors were unaware of this history at the time the columns were published.

The Democratic senators argued Thursday that the proposal by regulators to implement the ban on proprietary trading contains a "JPMorgan Loophole."

Financial regulators told a House panel Thursday that requiring banks to admit wrongdoing as a condition of settlements could raise safety and soundness concerns.

Jon Rymer, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s chief watchdog, will temporarily run the Securities and Exchange's inspector general office while the SEC seeks a permanent watchdog, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The Senate Banking Committee announced Thursday that it has invited JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to testify about the firm's $2 billion trading loss. A bank spokeswoman said Dimon has agreed to testify.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard reiterated Thursday banks deemed "too big to fail" should be split up.

The Senate confirmed Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors on Thursday, ending a six-year stretch where the board operated at less than full capacity.

United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., received a subpoena and a notice of formal investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission related to its deferred tax asset valuation allowances and goodwill impairment charges taken in 2009 and 2010.

Dangers involving people, processes and systems are now a greater danger to big banks than credit risk, according to Comptroller Thomas Curry. The statement may be one of many knockoff effects of JPMorgan Chase's recent trading loss.

The world's largest financial institutions may need to raise more than $500 billion to meet new global capital standards on the horizon, according to a report from Fitch Ratings that warned of the impact the rules could have on the ability of institutions to increase dividends or repurchase shares.

Every year, despite the risks and high costs, millions of Americans turn to payday loans for emergency funds. To date, a top-down, regulatory approach has been the primary means of addressing the downsides of the payday lending industry. To improve protection of consumers and encourage this industry to mature, such regulation should be joined by efforts that encourage market transparency.

Despite strong bipartisan support, a bill that would provide banks greater assurance of confidentiality when they provide information to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remains mired in the Senate.

"It is about saving the financial economy, not saving a firm," says Jim Wigand, the 28-year FDIC veteran tasked by Congress with ending Too-Big-to-Fail bailouts.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, the U.K.'s second-biggest government-backed lender, suspended at least two derivatives traders in a probe of potential interest-rate manipulation, two people briefed on the matter said.

Lawmakers hear of unintended consequences from shared-equity transactions designed to dispose of excess failed-bank assets.

I was surprised and disappointed by Jim Well's BankThink piece"Are Small Banks Big Banks' Pawns in Assault on Dodd-Frank?". As chair of the American Bankers Association's Community Bankers Council, I have the honor and responsibility of being a spokesperson for the community banking industry. I take this job seriously, and took great care to report on the growing regulatory burden that is suffocating our nation's small — but vital — financial institutions.