Law and regulation

A New York firm that represents banks in foreclosures is coming under the spotlight on Capitol Hill after the publication of offensive photos from its Halloween party.

ICB Financial in California paid the FDIC $500,000 for a waiver against any cross-guarantee liability from the failure of Progress Bank of Florida.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Daniel Tarullo said U.S. regulators will be making recommendations to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to change the proposed liquidity requirements that firms will have to adhere to starting in 2015.

International regulators named eight U.S. firms as globally significant institutions, subjecting them to a capital surcharge that will take effect in 2016. But the exact size of the charge, including differences among those institutions, was left unclear for at least another year.

If Sens. Dick Durbin and Jack Reed get their way, banks will soon be required to adopt a uniform one-page form for checking account fees.

The Federal Trade Commission is sending 188 refund checks to small businesses and non-profits that were defrauded by two telemarketing operations.

On Capitol Hill and at the White House, Democrats tried Thursday to pressure Senate Republicans who have vowed to block the nomination of Richard Cordray to CFPB by citing the agency's inability to pursue nonbank lenders who prey on service members.

The bank wanted to be up front with consumers about its short-lived debit card fee, senior executive Laurie Readhead said. She acknowledged a lack of initial planning, saying B of A has "a lot to learn."

Although the issue typically divides the two political parties, a new bill from Rep. Scott Garrett to establish a secondary mortgage market after the elimination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appeared to have bipartisan support at a hearing on Thursday.

Executives at a payments industry conference took some jabs at the regulations slashing their long-cherished debit card interchange fees.

The latest data confirm what housing practitioners already knew: there are simply not enough home sales today to spark a housing recovery. Whether it is a recent Mortgage Bankers Association survey on purchase applications being at a 15 year low, the Federal Housing Administration's fiscal year 2011 purchase data indicating a 30% decline or Fannie and Freddie's consistently weak purchase volume, all show a market in serious trouble.

The new HARP may help. But its sister program HAMP should also be revised so more borrowers can qualify, mortgage executives and community advocates say.

Fannie and Freddie would have to file suspicious activity reports directly to Fincen under a new plan unveiled Thursday.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson announced Thursday that he plans to hold a hearing on bonuses paid to executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac posted a $4.4 billion loss during the third quarter, up from a year-ago loss of $2.5 billion, marking its worst quarterly loss in more than one year.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke sought to assuage fears by the biggest banks in the United States that they may have to follow European counterparts in raising capital standards to 9% by mid-2012.

Michel Y. Dérobert of the Swiss Private Bankers Association discusses capital regulations, sovereign debt risk and Americans' perception that Swiss banks abet tax dodgers.

In an effort to curb speculation in financial markets and increase government revenue, a group of House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would tax certain financial transactions.

Consumers are complaining less about the way credit card companies treat them following the 2010 implementation of the Credit Card Accountability, Disclosure and Responsibility Act, new survey data from Consumer Reports suggest.

Raj Date, the interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, faced pointed questions and criticisms from Republicans in his first appearance before Congress since taking over for Elizabeth Warren last August.