Law and regulation

The banking industry is strongly supporting a bill that would allow independent appeals of examinations — an idea anathema to banking regulators.

An OWS subgroup discusses what would constitute a truly “alternative bank,” how much could be borrowed from the credit union, community bank and mutual models, and how to take it several steps beyond.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking input on ways to streamline regulations under the consumer financial laws it inherited from other regulators under the Dodd-Frank Act.

By purchasing Bonneville Bank, prepaid company Green Dot will be putting itself under the scrutiny of traditional banking regulators. But it may escape increased oversight from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Three Republican-sponsored bills that would amend the derivatives provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act are scheduled for a committee vote in the House on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve's Janet Yellen urged Congress not to delay making $1.2 trillion in cuts to the federal budget deficit, warning doing so may put the economic recovery in even greater jeopardy.

Democratic Sen. Jack Reed is pushing to tighten a five-year-old law that prohibits lenders from charging members of the military more than 36% interest on certain loans.

The agency's inspector general says the FHFA repeatedly has deferred key decisions to Fannie and Freddie without independently testing their decisions.

It's hard to pin down precise numbers, but anecdotal reports in news outlets across the country suggest that hundreds of thousands of Americans responded to "National Transfer Day" campaign by switching their deposits from major banks to credit unions.

The California Democrat still faces an ethics probe, which could hurt her chances to move into the top spot on the House Financial Services Committee, but appears to have the edge so far.

Throughout his career, Barney Frank was unapologetic about his strong positions, but his legacy will be his ability to work the legislative process to his advantage.

During the last century, economic growth in the United States was unparalleled. A large portion of that growth came from the explosion of capital formation for small companies. It is high time that America gets back to that future.

Several community banks have decided to forgo an appeal of decisions by major stock exchanges to delist their shares, deciding the benefits of a listing aren't worth the cost of the fight.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released its final rule providing guidelines and procedures on the voluntary merger of any of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks.

Citigroup Inc.'s $285 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over mortgage-backed securities was rejected by federal judge who said he hadn't been given enough facts to approve it.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sets up offices to oversee three financially vulnerable groups.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., will announce today that he will not seek re-election next year, capping a 32-year career in Congress, a spokesman said Monday.

Banks are going to need to make hard decisions to exit some traditional businesses. The question is how to do it to maximize what you get at the exit, and in such a way that remaining businesses can thrive.

Joseph Longino, the point man on accounting and regulatory matters at Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP, will join the advisory council of the Financial Accounting Standards Board next year.

The PMI Group Inc., Walnut Creek, Calif., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.