Law and regulation

The Financial Accounting Standards Board's accounting rules for credit risk have good intentions, but a likely amplification of the ups and downs of the credit market was probably not one of them.

Wells Fargo’s reputation as a consumer-friendly bank suffered a significant blow Thursday after it agreed to pay $190 million to settle charges that thousands of employees created unauthorized bank and credit card accounts for customers in order to collect bonuses for themselves.

In response to industry comments, the Federal Reserve said it would follow notice-and-comment procedures when exercising its countercyclical capital buffer authorities – a process whereby the biggest banks would hold an additional capital cushion to counteract overheated markets.

WASHINGTON – The House Financial Services Committee will vote on a bill Tuesday that has been touted as a Dodd-Frank alternative and will likely set the marker for financial reform debates in the next Congress.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. would be among banks most impacted in recommendations issued Thursday by U.S. banking agencies that seek an end to merchant banking and a limit on Wall Street's ownership of physical commodities.

Within five years, a dramatic transformation of the mortgage market will force firms to expand product menus beyond mortgages to develop stronger relationships with their customers.

A likely sale of CIT Group's aircraft unit (and a whole lot of other stuff) is keeping Ellen Alemany busy, a former Wall Street banker talks about big data as a financial weapon of mass discrimination targeting women and the poor, and First Busey shows how investing in employees pays off. Also, TIAA's Kathie Andrade, Deloitte's Cathy Engelbert and (to spice things up) Victoria Beckham.

A rising number of banks are looking to become community development financial institutions, emboldened by low-cost capital and an exemption from the ability-to-repay rule.

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $187.5 million to settle claims by federal regulators that the megabank wrongfully opened unauthorized bank and credit card accounts for more than 2 million customers.

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $187.5 million to settle claims by federal regulators that the megabank wrongfully opened unauthorized bank and credit card accounts for more than 2 million customers.

Banks are making it easier to get approved for a checking account. But once-banished customers may not be able to use some of the features that made having an account attractive in the first place.

It's the hot new address for an old Wall Street machine: 1209 North Orange Street. There, in Wilmington, Delaware, several giants of American finance have established powerful outposts.

Without incentives to shoot higher, banks usually settle for "Satisfactory" on their Community Reinvestment Act exams, but many find that not getting a better grade has consequences.

Though the Federal Housing Finance Agency has yet to provide full details about its new refinancing program to be launched next year, some analysts and industry observers are already convinced it will have only a limited impact.

Demand for lending services grew overall in the last six weeks but was more keenly felt in some regions while others remained stagnant, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Board.

The trade group challenged the NCUA's member business lending rules enacted in February, but also hinted that it is prepared to file another lawsuit should the agency move forward with a separate regulation that would expand credit unions' field of membership.

The Federal Reserve’s structure and makeup – and even geographical locations – drew criticism from members of Congress and the public as favoring the wealthy and ignoring the conditions of ordinary Americans

Making good on threats it had made previously, the Independent Community Bankers of America filed suit Wednesday against the National Credit Union Administration, claiming the agency's recent overhaul of its member business lending rules violate two different laws.

Fintech is transforming consumer financial services, but automation and data innovation can also help banks meet their growing regulatory demands.

U.S. prosecutors are considering a criminal charge against a unit of HSBC Holdings Plc related to conduct on its foreign-exchange desk, according to two people familiar with the matter, imperiling an earlier deal that let the bank avoid prosecution.