Law and regulation

Wells Fargo is facing a U.S. investigation into whether it improperly repossessed cars owned by members of the military, according to two people with knowledge of the probe.

Companies that rely on the U.K. as an easy portal to Europe or a bridge between Europe and North America stand to face serious challenges and are suddenly thrust into a big set of unknowns.

The Beltway debate between the retail and financial sectors over the electronic payment system has flared up again. While retailers are lobbying Congress to extend government price controls to credit card interchange rates, separate bills would repeal Durbin Amendment ceilings on debit card interchange and strengthen merchant security standards.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a plan Thursday to overhaul the debt collection industry that would limit collection attempts to six per week and require confirmation of a debt before contacting consumers. The plan, however, is not yet directed at banks and credit card companies.

The cybersecurity climate is already an all-hands-on-deck situation, so one more threat – even one prompted by one of America's loudest voices – may not matter.

President Obama called for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be eliminated, but Democratic policymakers attending the convention in Philadelphia appear resigned to the fact that Congress is unable to act on housing finance reform.

Nearly all publicly traded equities and a majority of bonds are owned not by the investors themselves but by a little-known entity called Cede & Co. This attenuation of property rights creates systemic risk, but an effort is underway to transform the system.

As if high default costs haven't been challenging enough for mortgage servicers, a growing number of seriously delinquent loans are Federal Housing Administration products, which require significant upfront investment to resolve.

Starting in 2010, regulators warned banks about the risks associated with rising interest rates. The problem has turned out to be just the opposite: persistently low rates.

More than 40% of consumers with complaints about debt collections say they were asked to pay debts they didn't owe. There are a host of reasons for the problem, including inscrutable legal disclosures.

E-commerce carries the promise of transactions without borders or brick and mortar, but it's still a challenge to enter a new market, according to WePay CEO Bill Clerico.

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae is making its housing counseling requirements more flexible so additional borrowers can qualify for its low-down-payment, affordable loan program called HomeReady.

State Street has agreed to pay $382.4 million to settle U.S. authorities' allegations that it applied hidden markups to clients' currency trades.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is set to unveil a sweeping proposal on debt collection practices this week that would force banks and credit card companies for the first time to comply with federal restrictions. It said the plan would put an end to some of the most egregious practices in the $13.7 billion debt collection industry.

In the years after the financial crisis, as banks were collapsing left and right, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. agreed to cover losses tied to the sale of many failed institutions. Today, loss-share portfolios are shrinking, decreasing by 80% from early 2011, to $18.8 billion at March 31, as many banks negotiate early terminations of their FDIC agreements. Here are some notable banks that got out of their pacts.

Bitcoin is property, not money, a Florida judge ruled Monday in a criminal case against a man accused of money laundering and unlicensed money transmission.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will ensure big banks do not again threaten the financial system.

Despite fears that increased compliance costs from new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules could drive community lenders out of the mortgage business, a watchdog report found that smaller companies remain active.

Most banks are staying away from both the Republican and Democratic national conventions, in part because both parties are engaging in anti-bank rhetoric.

The decision throws out the anti-money laundering charges against Michell Espinoza, who was arrested after agreeing to sell $30,000 to an undercover detective who declared he would use it in an illegal credit card scheme.