Law and regulation

Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry on Thursday urged eligible borrowers to sign up for the OCC's foreclosure-review process, and suggested that homeowners who didn't like the results would still be able to sue their mortgage servicers later.

Regulators on Thursday heeded complaints by financial institutions to provide precise guidance on when they would have to comply with the so-called "Volcker Rule," saying full compliance was not expected before July 21, 2014.

A Federal Reserve rule has sown confusion about the way lenders pay housing appraisers, creating new turmoil in an industry already burdened by expensive middlemen, falling home prices and diminished ranks.

Small-business lending may be heating up for the most creditworthy borrowers, but gaps in that market remain, according to Small Business Administration head Karen Mills.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office is suing Christopher Rojas of Irvine, Calif., for running a foreclosure rescue operation that used multiple business names and failed to deliver on promises to lower consumers' mortgage payments. The lawsuit charges Rojas with multiple violations of Ohio's consumer laws.

In October of last year the acting chairman of the FDIC said at the annual ABA meeting, "the FDIC is going to undertake a number in initiatives to further our understanding of the challenges and opportunities for community banks."

Larry Hattix believes that adding outside bureaucracy "will significantly delay exam processing and corrective actions," while making it more difficult for regulators to intervene when problems arise at banks and thrifts.

WASHINGTON — In a largely symbolic party-line vote Wednesday, the Republican-led House Financial Services Committee voted Wednesday to repeal the government's authority to wind down large, failing financial institutions, and recommended slashing funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to pursue actions against lenders for discriminatory practices, even when that discrimination is unintentional.

Annapolis Bancorp (ANNB) has repaid half of the $8.2 million it owed the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

American Express Co., InComm and other prepaid card marketers are in discussions with New Jersey officials and lawmakers that could bring an end to a situation that caused the removal of certain prepaid cards from retailers' shelves in that state.

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon rule on a case of far-reaching importance for any party affected by a Chapter 11 plan in a business bankruptcy case. At stake is the longstanding expectation of secured lenders that they'll either be repaid or permitted to take their collateral by means of a credit bid; in other words, paying for the collateral with their lien.

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated support Wednesday for mortgage principal reductions at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it plans to follow the Justice Department's lead in pursuing fair lending violations when a policy has a disparate impact on a group of borrowers, unintentional or not.

Bankers are complaining the Fed is letting economists direct supervision while it refuses to allow much public debate on issues critical to the industry. Editor-at-large Barbara A. Rehm argues the Fed needs to be less insular and challenge Congress more.

The new rule will force banks in border-states to provide information about payments to foreign depositors, but lawmakers from Florida have proposed legislation to block the reporting requirement.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking banks that issue structured notes to boost disclosures to investors, including the banks' own estimates for the securities' market value at the time of sale.

The pace of bank failures will slow considerably this year as the industry continues to recover from the real estate bust, according to the acting head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

We are in danger of a harmful proposal, which could be implemented this week. The proposal by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service would require all banks located within the United States to report interest payments made to nonresident alien depositors. The IRS in turn would exchange this information with foreign governments for data about Americans in those countries.

A group of fair housing advocates said Tuesday it plans to file a discrimination complaint against U.S. Bancorp, claiming the bank failed to maintain and market real estate-owned properties in minority neighborhoods.