Law and regulation

Create a national charter for nonbanks so they don't have to go through banks to offer products to underserved consumers.

Big bank deals will worsen systemic risks and unfair competition, said the ICBA, which called for a moratorium while new regulations are in the works. Capital One argued the deal would create a safer company.

The Massachusetts Democrat said housing advocates' fight against a key reform of Dodd-Frank would hurt the low-income borrowers they are trying to help.

Dodd-Frank failed to cure key structural shortcomings of mortgage servicing that are still harming consumers, says Raj Date, the interim leader of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

At a community banking panel at this year's American Banker Regulatory Symposium, the consensus held that regulation can't be a one-size-fits-all practice.

Since its inception, banking in America has been subject to regulation and supervision. For the most part, this relationship is symbiotic. At its best, regulation and supervision help prevent bad actors from undermining the reputation of the industry and hurting consumers; elevate good practices; and instill public confidence in the system.

Executives tell symposium audience that Basel committee's surcharge on systemically important firms will impede economic growth.

The Federal Reserve is holding public hearings in three cities across the country to review Capital One's proposed purchase of ING Direct. The hearings to be held in San Francisco are half a continent away from the nearest branches of what may become America's fifth largest bank. Without branches, the bank's responsibility to California cities and counties is not clear under regulators' current interpretation of the federal Community Reinvestment Act.

Robert G. Wilmers, the head of M&T Bank, came to the nation's capital Monday with an unfavorable assessment of whether the Dodd-Frank Act will do what lawmakers intended.

The Labor Department is delaying a rule designed to make investment advisors more accountable for the advice they give to employers and individuals in retirement plans, Assistant Secretary of Labor Phyllis Borzi said in a conference call Monday.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said Republicans were deliberately trying to prevent credible nominees from being confirmed to regulatory posts, and their legislative attempts to reform the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seem like moves meant to impede the bureau's progress.

OCC head tells American Banker regulatory symposium that banks could face restitution after complaint reviews. Gruenberg, meanwhile, announces FDIC community-bank initiatives.

As the FDIC files more lawsuits against former directors of failed banks, a common theme has emerged from the defendants’ legal arguments: the FDIC is to blame for the failures. Industry observers are divided as to whether the defense will hold water in court.

Major U.S. banks plan to launch a common website, toll-free phone number and advertising campaign in the coming weeks to solicit complaints from consumers harmed by problems in foreclosure processing, a top regulator said Monday.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are gradually increasing the guarantee fees they collect from lenders, and may discontinue the volume discounts they give large banks, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Ed DeMarco said on Monday.

The White House proposed Monday to "modestly" increase the fees that mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge mortgage lenders as a way to reduce the U.S. mortgage system's dependence on government support.

Denying the application would ice large banks, spook foreign owners and deprive the central bank of a key consolidation tool.

Regulators, mortgage insurers, and plaintiffs' attorneys all failed to stop a decade-long pay-to-play scheme in captive mortgage reinsurance alleged by HUD's inspector general. But the short-term profits the deals produced may have cost banks a great deal in the long run.

Life insurance agents are concerned about a proposed change emanating from Dodd-Frank.

On September 12 the U.K.'s Independent Commission on Banking released its much-anticipated final report, also known as the "Vickers report" after chairman Sir John Vickers.