Law and regulation

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday unexpectedly postponed its meeting to discuss Capital One Financial Corp.'s $9 billion deal for ING Direct USA until next week.

Investors in Washington Mutual Inc.'s trust-preferred securities and die-hard litigants pursuing cases stemming from the largest collapse in U.S. banking history are readying for a last-ditch fight against the company's $7 billion Chapter 11 plan.

Lakeland Bancorp Inc. in Oak Ridge, N.J., has paid off its remaining debt to Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Democrats and Republicans said Wednesday they would support a bill to ensure that certain information shared with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during exams is protected by attorney-client privilege.

Four defendants in an allegedly phony debt-relief services operation have settled Federal Trade Commission charges.

In an improving economy, many of the policies and procedures that were imposed on banks in 2008 have become counterproductive, and are hurting rather than helping the industry.

The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are providing further guidance that would make it easier for overseas banks to comply with a tax withholding requirement for some of their U.S. clients.

Mortgage lender PHH has been scrambling to reassure investors of its funding and cash positions in the wake of an S&P downgrade and the departure of its former CEO, Jerome Selitto.

Moments before he was scheduled to make a statement on the mortgage servicing settlement Tuesday night, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman postponed the conference call indefinitely.

Bankers are up in arms over the fact that a Congressional oversight has raised doubts about whether documents submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will retain attorney-client privilege.

President Obama's nomination of a Republican to the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is fueling optimism that there may yet be a way for the Senate to confirm several pending financial nominees.

The Federal Reserve Board has ordered bank holding companies in Iowa, Wisconsin and South Carolina to use whatever resources are available to them to nurse their ailing bank subsidiaries back to health.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stressed to concerned lawmakers that any crisis in Europe would have a significant impact on U.S. financial institutions, even though the industry and regulators have taken steps to minimize potential damage.

Nonbank mortgage lenders are required to establish anti-money laundering programs and file suspicious activity reports under a final rule issued Tuesday by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

The Federal Reserve Board could vote as early as Wednesday on Capital One's application to buy the online banking unit of ING Group.

After a yearlong effort to reach a multistate settlement with the top five mortgage servicers, state attorneys general and the firms involved finally appear to be close to a deal. But even before it is signed, there are already questions about how it will be implemented and future litigation risks.

Most Senate Republicans have said they will file a court brief supporting any legal challenge to recess appointments at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and National Labor Relations Board.

The American Bankers Association promoted five staff members of its executive staff.

Two members of the House Financial Services Committee members, Reps. Michael Grimm and Stephen Fincher, are hosting a fundraising party on Tuesday to celebrate their birthdays.

Banks have faced onslaughts of litigation for several years over their credit card payment protection plans. But so far legal efforts to challenge or change the business have ended in dismissals or relatively small settlements.