Law and regulation

Unlike grading corporate credits, rating big countries is thoroughly ridiculous. We can all look at the same budget numbers and assess the political prospects as well as any rating agency.

WASHINGTON — The Senate Banking Committee has begun gathering information about Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade U.S. government debt, according to a committee aide.

A downgrade of the U.S. government's credit rating is raising the question of whether some of the biggest banks may be next.

WASHINGTON — As the stock prices of the big banks cratered on Monday, particularly for Bank of America Corp., pundits and industry observers began worrying that a second financial crisis was in the offing, including the possibility of the failure of a large financial institution.

The downgrading of the government to double-A-plus was not only correct but overdue. If anything, S&P should have taken Uncle Sam down to double-A-minus, given the deadlock over revenues and spending.

Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond mutual fund, said Standard & Poor's showed "spine" by cutting the U.S. debt rating, contradicting Warren Buffett and Legg Mason Inc.'s Bill Miller, who said the rating company erred.

PE firm Gores Group unveils its payments reader strategy for Hypercom's U.S. payments terminal business

JSC Federal Credit Union is the latest of a growing list of credit unions that have agreed to set aside funds to settle consumers’ claims the credit union violated provisions of the notification provisions of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.

WASHINGTON - Two failures Friday evening cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. an estimated $160 million.

A top official at rating firm Standard & Poor's said Friday the company's decision to downgrade U.S. government debt for the first time in 70 years was due in part to Washington's political paralysis surrounding raising the debt ceiling.

Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. government's debt will not affect the risk-based capital requirements for U.S. banks, federal regulators said Friday evening.

Faced with an influx of money that could stream out as suddenly as it arrived, banks are being forced to maintain big pools of liquid assets, and potentially earn negative returns on deposits.

We wonder if it's the same individual who talked to CNBC and ABC News, but it's hard to tell since ABC identified their source as "a government official," while CNBC's is merely "someone familiar with the matter." But the information is essentially the same: the federal government is expecting and preparing for a downgrade by Standard & Poor's Corp.

A coalition of bipartisan lawmakers, aided by industry and housing groups, faces an uphill battle to extend the increase against unlikely allies: House Republican leadership and the White House.

Banks face a big challenge in performing the high degree of analysis required under new security rules for payments initiated online. National Penn Bancshares claims to have had significant success fighting fraud using technology and human interaction.

The buzz word "duplicative" has been making the rounds lately, employed by watchdog groups and politicians to describe government programs which overlap and offer redundant services at taxpayer expense.

GAO says agency should document how it estimates impact of loss-share deals.

Even while his nomination stalls, executives from his home state push are lobbying for his confirmation.

WASHINGTON — After leaving Washington at the end of July, Elizabeth Warren started August as the object of "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau's affections.

WASHINGTON — Twenty small banks will receive a total of $253 million in the latest round of funding from the Small Business Lending Fund, according to the Treasury Department.