Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill Tuesday that could ease the regulatory burden on community and regional banks with mortgage servicing businesses.

American Honda Finance Corp. has agreed to pay $24 million to consumers and lower the dealer price caps to settle federal charges that minorities received higher-cost auto loans than white borrowers.

Treasury Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin told a group of bankers that law enforcement and regulators need to declassify more information so banks can protect themselves.

Most banks ask executives to coordinate a vast patchwork of regulation in addition to managing their day jobs. They'd be better off putting one person in charge of regulatory communication, remediation and coordination.

The Dodd-Frank Act orders regulators to create diversity standards that govern financial institutions' hiring and contracting practices. So why did they shy away from the chance to propose clear, measurable reporting requirements?

Gov. Scott Walker sided with banking and other financial groups that opposed legislation letting payday lending companies offer insurance, annuities and other financial products.

Those looking for easy answers from a government report about what caused recent volatility in the Treasury markets — including whether regulation is to blame — were likely disappointed.

Sunshine Financial in Tallahassee, Fla., has asked for permission to switch to a state bank charter from a federal thrift charter.

Democratic presidential fron-trunner called for tougher reforms on Wall Street and harsher penalties for financial misconduct, but avoided more aggressive positions embraced by other candidates to break up the biggest banks.

Some housing professionals have grown reluctant to participate in the Federal Home Loan Banks' Affordable Housing Program, objecting to burdensome requirements and rules that are inconsistent with other funding sources. It's time for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to make some updates.

Colorado state regulators on Friday closed the $31.7 million-asset Premier Bank in Denver.

The Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility said it found no support for allegations that federal lawyers wrongly pursued legal online payday lenders and forced banks to cut ties with legitimate businesses.

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Auto title loans in California grew by more than 10% in number and dollar value last year and the market has almost doubled since 2011, according to a new report.

WASHINGTON — The World Bank is wrapping up a global survey to examine if "de-risking" is leading banks to disassociate from remittance businesses in areas prone to money-laundering activities.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including ideas about how to improve disclosure requirements and ways to encourage banks and young tech firms to join forces.

Lenders and real estate agents may have to extend the usual 30-day timelines for rate locks and sales contracts while they get acclimated to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau mortgage disclosures that take effect in October.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced the first Senate bill protecting banks involved with legal marijuana businesses.

Federal prosecutors are cracking down on violations of the Bank Secrecy Act — often without first clarifying to virtual currency firms and other industries the sort of behavior will get them in trouble.

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 from our social media platforms.