Law and regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal to restrict the use of arbitration clauses would allow it to seize enormous amounts of data from financial firms that could lead to more enforcement actions, according to industry lawyers.

Requiring banks to improve records on which depositors are insured overlooks how the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. resolves failures.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that one in five borrowers who take out short-term auto title loans have their vehicle seized for failing to repay the loan.

With the CFPB flexing its regulatory muscles, it's no surprise that collectors are making compliance a priority.

Key Democrats abruptly reversed course Tuesday concerning a monetary policy tool, saying they now support the Federal Reserve's ability to pay interest on banks' excess reserves.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Monday named Bryan Hubbard as the new deputy comptroller for public affairs.

Biscayne Bank in Miami, a community bank that focuses on serving high-net-worth individuals from the Caribbean and Latin America, has been named as an intermediary in the Panama Papers leak.

Requiring the bank regulators to disclose the numerical grades they give for capital, assets and other factors would subject them to the same market discipline they demand for banks.

LendingClub Corp., which plunged 51 percent last week after the surprise departure of its leader and disclosure of faulty internal controls, said the scandal is prompting investors to suspend debt purchases and spurring government probes.

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that private attorneys hired by states are not in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when using official letterhead to collect a debt. The case has been watched closely by financial institutions for its interpretation of “false, deceptive or misleading” practices.

WASHINGTON -- M&T Bank has agreed to pay $64 million to settle U.S. government allegations that it originated defective Federal Housing Administration insured loans over a five-year period.

As the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis continues its yearlong inquiry into how to end "too big to fail" in the banking system, academics and economists are starting to home in on a different but related question: How do we keep financial contagion from creating financial crises?

The June 25 launch, which will provide lenders with much more information about a borrower's credit history, will mark the first widespread use of trended data in the mortgage industry.

Favorable treatment under upcoming Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules has led banks to signal interest in small-dollar loans. But if they can serve the market profitably, why aren't they already doing it?

WASHINGTON -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has opened registration for a June forum on “supporting responsible innovation” in the banking industry.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges against two attorneys it says stole money from small-business owners seeking commercial loans.

A long-awaited final rule published this week that requires banks to keep better track of the owners of companies with accounts at their institutions is too little, too late in combating money laundering and terrorism financing, according to financial crime specialists.

In a blog post on the Brookings Institution website, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Dodd-Frank Act and Basel reforms as a necessary "process" while countering calls to break up the largest U.S. banks as shortsighted and unnecessarily disruptive

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent white paper is a great first step in promoting innovative collaboration between banks and fintech, but companies need clearer guidelines on what regulators expect of them.

Approval from the Federal Reserve Board is all that stands between Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., and two acquisitions that will add $6.1 billion in assets.