Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — Regulators announced Tuesday that they are giving large banks with less than $100 billion in assets an additional year to file their living wills.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau added its voice Tuesday to a chorus of other regulators in calling for sustainable foreclosure relief when the Home Affordable Modification Program expires at yearend.

In a political season teeming with tension around income inequality, racial economic disparities and animus toward the banking industry, reforming the Community Reinvestment Act seems like it should be a cornerstone of the debate. Yet the law has been almost entirely absent from the discussion. Here's why.

Benefiting from higher loan guarantee income and lower derivative losses, Freddie Mac said Tuesday it had made $993 million in the second quarter, a dramatic reversal from its $354 million loss a quarter earlier.

JPMorgan Chase's contract to provide debit cards to inmates released from federal prison is backfiring after the bank agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by inmates who said they were charged exorbitant fees to access their money.

In a perfect world, better financial literacy — along with equipping bankers with ethical standards — would make the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau obsolete.

WASHINGTON – Lending standards for most business and residential real estate loans as well as subprime consumer loans are tighter than the 10-year average, according to a survey of senior bank loan officers released by the Federal Reserve Board.

In a board action late last week, the agency proposed a number of changes, including softening the exam appeals process, in response to recommendations by the FDIC Office of Inspector General. It also asked banks to pay particular attention to their relationships with third-party lenders.

European bank regulators should get out of the way and let banks there "do their job," JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said.

The linchpin of the federal government's payday lending proposal is a credit-reporting system for small-dollar loans created by the private sector, but the kinds of companies that could create it haven't stepped forward.

Banks should assess a customer's full financial picture before deciding to sell a debt to a third-party collection agent.

Four years after the first states legalized marijuana, most bankers still want nothing to do with it.

In June, SourceMedia Research — an affiliate of American Banker — conducted a survey of 52 chief operating officers and other operations executives on a range of topics, including COOs' top priorities and what they think will be their future role. The data suggests COOs are concerned with regulatory trends and security threats and view themselves as change agents. Many aspire to one day become a CEO. Here are some data snapshots.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal Friday updating its mortgage disclosure rule did not give lenders what they wanted: an ability to correct errors after a loan has closed and a release from liability for technical violations. But the 293-page proposal did provide revisions that will help in compliance and the closing of more loans.

The CFPB updated its "Know Before You Owe" mortgage disclosure rule to provide more clarity to lenders. It has proposed additional tolerance provisions, clarified a partial exemption for housing finance agencies, extended the rule's coverage to all cooperative units, and provided more clarity about privacy and the sharing of information.

The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 was an unexpected and prominent part of the Democratic and Republican conventions this year, as both parties added a call to reinstate the law as part of their party platforms. But that will be easier said than done, considering that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have shown little interest in the idea. Following is a look at how a Depression-era law found its way to Cleveland and Philadelphia.

WASHINGTON — Despite efforts by regulators and banks to improve underwriting of commercial leveraged loans, the number of troubled large syndicated credits jumped again this year, according to a report released Friday by federal regulators.

Regulators' recent warnings on emerging risks with commercial real estate indicate banks have reverted to CRE practices that got them in hot water once before.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's debt collection plan is likely to put pressure on banks and first-party creditors to provide better documentation on consumer debts that get transferred to debt buyers and collectors. While the proposal does not cover banks and first-party creditors, some experts said banks will be on the hook for providing better information.