Law and regulation

The go-go years of financial services growth are over. Today the focus is on capital adequacy, strict underwriting standards and conservative investing. The panicked days of September 2008 that spawned the Dodd-Frank Act mean the days of light-touch regulation also are gone.

The Fed's results found Ally Financial Inc. in the weakest position in a hypothetical scenario in which the economy experienced a nosedive. Citigroup Inc. and SunTrust Banks Inc. would just barely fall short of capital minimums in such an event.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. led a flurry of the biggest U.S. banks in announcing dividend raises and stock buybacks, two days before the Federal Reserve was set to release the results of this year's stress tests.

The Federal Reserve has reached a written agreement with Central Bancorp Inc. in Garland, Texas.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's inspector general issued five reports about foreclosure-handling practices at five major U.S. banks: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Ally Financial.

The window of opportunity to get away with questionable fees on reloadable prepaid cards may be narrowing.

John Walsh, the acting Comptroller of the Currency, told attendees they shouldn't expect surprises from the OCC's exam process. Martin Gruenberg, acting chairman of the FDIC, added that big banks should face the same market forces as smaller institutions, including the threat of failure.

The OCC is probing JPMorgan Chase's credit card debt-collection processes.

Robo-signed affidavits and sloppy legal work led the bank to halt court claims. The errors cast doubt on billions of dollars in judgments.

The biggest banks got a clearer picture Monday of what to expect when the Federal Reserve Board releases its latest stress tests results later this week.

Bank of American Corp. and Ally Financial Inc. have agreed to make deeper principal reductions for some borrowers under the $25 billion multistate mortgage servicer settlement.

More than a month after federal and state officials announced a massive $25 billion settlement with the five mortgage servicers, the Justice Department on Monday finally released the actual legal document. The document dump provided critical new details about the terms of the agreement.

Promontory Interfinancial Network LLC said Monday that its Insured Cash Sweep service is now fully integrated with Data Center Inc.'s iCore360 core banking software.

TCF Financial CEO William Cooper had some surprising praise this week for the much-contested CFPB. But he pulled few other punches, telling retail bankers that Bank of America "screwed the pooch" with its failed debit-card fee.

William S. Haraf, the commissioner of California's Department of Financial Institutions, has resigned from the post, effective Friday.

The Credit Union National Association launched a radio campaign to help save House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus, who is being challenged by a Tea Party-backed candidate in Tuesday's Republican primary.

A Senate hearing will focus on the viability of principal reductions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages, while the House will examine a mediation program for banks and lenders in Nevada.

The U.S. government and 49 states filed a $25 billion settlement of alleged foreclosure abuses in federal court on Monday, capping a year of negotiations with five major banks after public outrage erupted in fall 2010 over revelations that banks cut corners when processing foreclosures.

The Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform bill included a provision creating Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion in all 20 federal agencies that regulate our financial system.

U.S. Bancorp has created a separate in-house appraisal unit overseen by a senior risk officer, breaking from the way most banks handle appraisals of residential properties.