Law and regulation

A U.S. district court has banned a mortgage-relief business that operated a scheme causing consumer losses of nearly $19 million from doing further business.

Rather than wait for government or plaintiff lawyers to find them, banks that were involved in the syndication of mortgage backed securities should control their exposure through a proactive, rigorous self-study program.

Many small banks have never accepted that an exemption from the Durbin amendment will protect them from the measure's roughly 50% cut in debit interchange rates.

Senior Fed officials met Monday in a closed session on Capital One Financial Corp.'s pending acquisition of the U.S. online banking unit of ING Group but did not make a decision. It had delayed a meeting on the deal last week.

The premium increase, expected to be announced in the next week, is one of a series of steps the FHA is taking to avoid a taxpayer bailout.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has requested $448 million from the Federal Reserve in 2013, according to the president's budget proposal, which also outlines the fees that regulators expect to collect from banks this year and would provide significant increases for the CFTC.

The mortgage settlement was a political coup for President Obama and state attorneys general. For banks, it was merely the latest turn in a long and winding effort to put housing problems behind them.

The administration's proposal predicts the fund will return to the red through 2015. But its estimates are inconsistent with FDIC projections, which industry officials like Jim Chessen said were more reliable.

Greg Gonzales closed two banks last month and a slew of new problem banks could keep him busy this year. In a recent interview, he says his strategy gives struggling banks a reality check, but enough rope as possible to solve their problems.

The White House plans to ask the largest U.S. firms to pay a $61 billion 'bank tax,' part of which will be used to pay for the administration's massive refinancing plan.

With the recess appointment of the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency is becoming even more active and issues are coming into focus. Financial institutions subject to its jurisdiction should pay attention to its Supervision and Examination Manual published in late 2011.

Sen. Tim Johnson has asked government watchdog agencies to look into whether examiners are being too tough on community banks. The move comes amid a fight over the issue between banks and their regulators.

Those $1,500-$2,500 checks being sent to foreclosed-upon borrowers wouldn't cover Jamie Dimon's travel expenses to Davos.

Many small banks have never accepted that an exemption from the Durbin amendment will protect them from the measure's roughly 50% cut in debit interchange rates. Earnings at banks with assets of less than $10 billion appear to have been entirely untouched by the cap in the first quarter since its Oct. 1 implementation, however.

U.S. banks should take notice of the latest developments with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a tax-evasion law aimed primarily at foreign banks.

For the moment, the job of ensuring that the nation's largest banks comply with the terms of last week's mammoth mortgage settlement falls on just one man: Joseph A. Smith, Jr., North Carolina's banking commissioner.

Colony Bankcorp Inc. in Fitzgerald, Ga., will suspend paying a dividend on preferred stock that the Treasury Department holds and interest payments on some junior debt.

President Obama's January 4th recess appointment of Richard Cordray as head of the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has threatened to set-off a contentious legal challenge in an already polarized Congress.

A coalition of bank and credit-union lobbyists joined the ATM industry in requesting legislation to stop lawsuits alleging violation of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.

A plan by regulators to reduce banks' reliance on credit ratings may ultimately overstate capital requirements, improperly account for risk sensitivity and put U.S. firms at a competitive disadvantage, according to the largest banks and their representatives.