Law and regulation

Dark pools have a bad reputation these days — but they also reduce the transaction costs of large trades and help provide the market with liquidity. That's why regulators need to ensure these platforms fulfill their intended purpose instead of simply shutting them down.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's enforcement action against Ripple Labs sent a clear message to the cryptocurrency industry about regulators' high expectations for compliance. Such actions will help clear the way for banks to partner with blockchain technology firms down the line.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s second-quarter industry update showed steadily rising loan balances making up for persistently tight net interest margins.

Ebrahim Shabudin, former chief operating officer and chief credit officer at United Commercial Bank in San Francisco, has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for securities fraud related to the bank's failure.

Banks are seeing steady growth in consumer loan demand nationwide, particularly in auto loans and mortgages, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Board.

U.S. banking earnings in the second quarter rose 7.3% from a year earlier to $43 billion as institutions enjoyed higher revenues and lower noninterest expenses, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wednesday.

Minorities receive surprisingly few small-business loans, high-level employment promotions and business contract opportunities. The federal government can help remedy the situation by collected detailed data on these matters from financial institutions.

The Federal Housing Administration is reissuing a loan certification proposal that has sparked industry concerns that it will make it easier for the Justice Department to sue lenders when they file claims for agency-insured loans that go into default.

More than half of real estate agents are planning to extend their sales contracts to provide more time for the closing processing due to the coming implementation of new mortgage disclosures.

Symphony, the instant messaging service supported by fifteen large banks, says it will be ready to roll on Sept. 15 despite the objections of Sen. Elizabeth Warren and regulators who fear its encryption technology will impede supervision.

A measure that would substantially cut the Federal Reserve's dividend payment to member banks is likely to prove difficult to remove from a Senate highway funding bill even though it has few public backers and many critics.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has lifted its operating agreement with the banking unit of Capital Bank Financial in Coral Gables, Fla.

A new study by the Richmond Fed confirms that swipe fees have only gone down for a small fraction of merchants, contrary to congressional intent. This finding should spur the central bank to limit price-fixing to a reasonable level.

M&T Bank has agreed to pay $485,000 and change its lending policies to settle a lawsuit that accused the Buffalo, N.Y., company of racial discrimination in making mortgage loans.

In the digital age, financial data is both a commercial tool and a means of detecting criminal activity. This leaves multinational financial institution issuers, especially those that operate in both the United States and the European Union, at risk for fines and litigation.

A new battle is brewing between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the government-sponsored enterprises set out to boost their purchases of low down payment loans.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is calling for stricter regulation of marketplace lending.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton championed a bill on Monday to reduce the so-called "revolving door" for workers moving between the financial industry and government.

K2 Intelligence, an adviser on compliance and cybersecurity, has hired a former FBI cryptocurrency expert and a former regulator who worked on New York's digital currency regulations.

As marketing services agreements disappear under pressure from regulators, loan officers will have to compete based on skill and customer service to win referral business.