Law and regulation

Yes, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke knows the price of milk, bread and eggs.

While community banks call on Congress to give the Transaction Account Guarantee more time, an array of - albeit costlier - alternatives for retaining customers and liquidity does exist.

The Treasury Department said Friday it has agreed to pay $171 million it had withheld from Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase after the lenders fixed problems in how they handle loan assistance programs.

PennyMac founder and former Countrywide president Stanford L. Kurland has taken his share of criticism for helping to start the financial crisis. Now he is singing the praises of the government's latest attempt to fix it.

The Federal Reserve Board on Friday issued guidance to community bank examiners on what they should consider when upgrading an institution's supervisory rating.

The Federal Reserve Board said Friday it will give the industry more time to weigh in on a batch of rules that will impact how much capital banks must hold

After more than 25 years as national bank, Equity Bank in Andover, Kan., is switching to a state charter.

Dorsey Thornton & Associates LLC, a Georgia-based collection company, entered into a $15.5 million settlement agreement with the state's Governor's Office of Consumer Protection to resolve allegations that the agency harassed and deceived thousands of consumers.

One has to admire the tenacity of the credit union lobby. Once again, a handful of very large credit unions are putting pressure on Congressional officials to pass legislation that will increase credit unions' business lending authority from 12.5 percent of their total assets to 27.5 percent. The commercial banking industry has fought off similar attempts for such expansion in previous Congressional sessions and we are working hard to do so once again.

A decision by a Georgia judge this week raised new obstacles in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s claims against former managers of the failed Integrity Bank.

Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. in Flint. Mich., would need to increase its size by roughly 25% to offset any costs associated with crossing the $10 billion-asset threshold, according to Chief Executive Cathleen Nash.

Sen. Richard Durbin on Thursday blasted Bank of America following a report that the firm is weighing new fees for certain checking account holders.

Community banks are warning Congress that allowing interest to be paid on such accounts will help large banks and hurt local communities, but they appear to be gaining little traction.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said new deposit fee restrictions have compelled the New York company to shy away from building new branches in lower-income areas.

In his second day of testimony, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke provided some relief to foreign governments who have objected to the proposed 'Volcker Rule' by saying U.S. regulators were seriously considering complaints logged against the regulation.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is embarking on an ambitious study to better understand community banks. It doing so, it's looking beyond the traditional measure — size.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Fueled by higher bank fees and the Bank Transfer Day movement, credit unions scored some of their biggest membership gains ever in the second half of 2011, NCUA reported this morning.

WASHINGTON — Customers will now be able to file complaints about their checking and savings accounts with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Heritage Commerce Bancorp Inc. in San Jose has received approval from its regulators and the Treasury Department to repay the $40 million it received from the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Truth-in-Lending Act lawsuits filed against collection agencies and creditors slowed in the first half of February after an active second half of January, according to WebRecon LLC, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based firm that tracks the data from U.S. District Courts.