Law and regulation

Financial Services chairman says he never used insider information in making trades, and the market's poor state in 2008 was well-known.

Regulators are writing massive, complex rules that will be impossible to enforce. Editor at Large Barbara A. Rehm offers an alternative.

American Banker's editors discuss Wal-Mart's latest attempt to eat bankers' lunch.

Card data security risks for online merchants or those operating payment schemes via cloud computing will get much attention next year from the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.

The special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said Wednesday that it worked with Google to suspend advertising for a slew of alleged online mortgage modification scams.

Anemic household expenditures this year heightened anxiety that the economy would stall out, but growth in spending on plastic has remained healthy. An increased appetite for big-ticket items among households that are surviving the malaise probably explains much of the phenomenon.

A pair of healthy banks destined to be partners are nearing deadline as investors anxiously wait.

This is the time of year when bank boards of directors and management begin the strategic planning process for the following year. There will be few years in the careers of any of us that will provide as many seemingly one-time events as will this coming year, 2012.

In testimony on Capitol Hill, Freddie Mac chief executive officer Charles Haldeman Jr. and Fannie Mae president and CEO Michael Williams said that competitive salaries and bonuses are necessary to keep employees who can run the firms effectively.

It's time for our regulators to think broadly about what our financial system needs and then take a stand. Simply grinding out Dodd-Frank proposals that no one understands — like the risk-retention proposal and the Volcker Rule release — is not the answer.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is asking students, colleges and lenders for information on the private student loan market that will inform a joint report to Congress required by the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has established new guidelines governing the setting up and management of offsite ATMs in hopes of spreading financial inclusion across the country.

A lawsuit by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office against Unicredit America Inc.'s former president can continue even though he declared bankruptcy.

The U.S. Treasury is looking beyond the insured banking system in an effort to improve the delivery of viable credit alternatives to consumers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received a clean bill of health from the Government Accountability Office in its first annual report of the bureau's finances.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac late Tuesday afternoon released a somewhat detailed bulletin on the underwriting guidelines for refinancing underwater borrowers with GSE loans, segmenting what's allowable based on the loan-to-value (LTV) and if the product is being offered by the current servicer.

A bill by Rep. Spencer Bachus passed overwhelmingly in the House Financial Services Committee to cap senior executives pay at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The director of the CFPB's Office for Older Americans said the bureau plans to raise awareness of the growing problem of elder financial abuse. Democrats used the hearing to reemphasize that the bureau can't fully protect seniors until a permanent director is confirmed.

A new book and piece by 60 Minutes have raised issues about whether Rep. Spencer Bachus traded on private information he received from regulators during the financial crisis.

DeMarco takes responsibility for the $12 million in payments, but says they were necessary to ensure top talent at the government-sponsored enterprises.