Law and regulation

The new cryptocurrency allows users to selectively disclose information about their transactions to authorized parties without exposing it to the world. That feature could make blockchains more appealing to financial institutions, but maybe less so for regulators.

In a speech defending his support of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel faulted both major parties for letting recent financial bubbles occur under their watch.

Citigroup Inc. disclosed a new government probe involving the industry's trading and clearing of interest-rate swaps five months after paying $425 million to resolve claims that it attempted to rig derivatives markets.

The president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank is best known for her dissenting votes on monetary policy, but that's not the only way she stands out. Her background as a farmer and former bank examiner gives her a unique perspective among Fed officials.

As banks grow and their business models become more complex, some find that adding a general counsel to the staff makes sense. Bank SNB in Stillwater, Okla., says hiring one allowed it to reduce its legal fees by 80%. Here are the pros and cons.

Mortgage brokers were among the companies that received the regulator's warning letters, but brokers are not required to report HMDA data — leading many to suspect mini-correspondents, which straddle the line between broker and lender, were the recipients.

The mortgage industry is welcoming the Obama administration's possibly final word on housing finance reform, hoping it will serve as guidepost for the future.

WASHINGTON — A retired Office of the Comptroller of the Currency employee left last year with more than 10,000 sensitive records uploaded to two thumb drives, the agency revealed on Friday.

Progressives are already pushing Democrats to appoint another Wall Street reformer to the Banking Committee if they win back the Senate, but other considerations, including the 2018 midterms, will play a significant role in who is chosen.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

WASHINGTON — Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are raising concerns about why independent audits of Wells Fargo's internal controls didn't discover fraudulent account openings by thousands of employees.

Many fully expected the agency to approve the significant overhaul of its field of membership rule, but the regulator went one better, issuing a new proposal that raises the population limit on well-defined communities from 2.5 million to 10 million.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent letters Thursday to 44 mortgage lenders warning them of potential reporting violations related to their mortgage lending activities — infractions the bureau is increasingly pushing lenders to take seriously.

A financial report due out soon could reignite a battle over whether the Federal Housing Administration should again reduce its annual premium.

Nearly a year and more than 10,000 comment letters after it was introduced, the National Credit Union Administration is expected to vote Thursday on a final rule that would make it easier for consumers to join a credit union.

One of the nation's biggest prepaid card issuers said that it expects to lose 10% to 12% of its current revenue as a result of new federal rules governing the industry.

Five banks in Kansas are putting together plans to share a compliance officer. While the move should save money, the banks are fully aware of the risks involved with the potential collaboration.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is expanding efforts to encourage the development of new banking products, announcing Wednesday that it will establish an office of innovation to spearhead research and communication related to fintech.

The regulatory environment could be looking brighter for New York Community Bancorp as it is poised to cross an important regulatory threshold.

WASHINGTON – Sixteen Senate Democrats sent a letter to federal financial regulators on Wednesday asking them to strengthen a proposal to restrict executive compensation at financial firms.