Law and regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking comment on a proposal to revise a Federal Reserve rule limiting credit card fees issued before a borrower opens an account.

The Treasury Department's recent auction of preferred shares in six banks may signal that the agency has finally found a path to end its bank investments under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

By backing off a plan to limit large up-front fees banks can charge on credit cards, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau feels it has protected cardholders from other increased costs, the Associated Press reported April 12.

Jeff Gerhart, who took over as chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America last month, also chairs a small bank in Nebraska. In a wide-ranging interview, the fourth-generation banker discusses competing against bigger banks and collaboration with the American Bankers Association.

NCAL Bancorp in Los Angeles and Raton Capital in New Mexico have been hit with enforcement orders from the Federal Reserve Board that require them to stabilize their ailing bank subsidiaries.

C&F Financial (CFFI) in West Point, Va., has repurchased all the shares it issued to the Treasury Department in 2009 and now just needs to buy back its warrant to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

An estimated 577 lawsuits were filed against debt collection agencies and creditors in the March 16-31 period, including 525 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) cases and 71 Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) cases, according to data from U.S. District Courts. Some lawsuits cited more than one alleged violation.

A report from the Special Inspector General for Tarp said Treasury didn't do enough to facilitate participation in the Hardest Hit Fund, which has distributed just 3% of the funds available to struggling borrowers in the two years since it was created.

A U.S. district court has halted an operation that allegedly collected phantom payday loan debts that consumers either didn't owe to the defendants or didn't owe at all.

More than one month after the Oklahoma Senate passed the Bartmann Ethical Debt Collection Act by a 40-2 vote, the state's House of Representatives has referred the bill for additional study.

In its latest survey of economic conditions, the Federal Reserve said more bankers experienced higher loan demand by businesses and consumers.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s two newest board members are expected to begin work at the agency on Monday, an agency spokesman said.

Gift card marketers are joining forces to oppose a New Jersey law that would cause headaches for retailers.

Students will now be able to compare individual financial aid offers from different colleges using an interactive, online worksheet developed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Banks and credit unions are engaged in a fierce lobbying battle over legislation that would allow credit unions to expand their commercial lending.

The agencies can use their discretion to act without discretion: treat all banks alike, big or small, and declare that no nonbanks are "systemically important," i.e. too big to fail.

William S. Ferguson II, the former owner of a now-closed collection agency in Baton Rouge, La., was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to three counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

One key to the well being of the banking industry is of course the economy. Even the best management and board cannot immunize a banking company from the effects of local and national economic malaise.

Sometime in June, the long-awaited final qualified mortgage rule will be released. Considerable speculation and debate over variations of the rule have taken place since it appeared in the Dodd-Frank Act. Its ultimate form has implications for access to mortgage credit, its cost, and contingent legal liability, among others.

The mortgage insurance industry has paid about $30 billion in claims, mostly to Fannie and Freddie, through the current cycle. That $30 billion is money that didn't have to come from the taxpayer.