Law and regulation

Former Federal Reserve chair Paul Volcker is far from the first watchdog to suggest the U.S. regulatory system is badly in need of a common-sense makeover. Yet a confusing and ineffective structure remains the status quo.

Seven years after declaring a truce in a battle with large banks over tracking their insured deposits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reopened the fight Tuesday with a new proposal that would take an even tougher stance.

Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator and Republican presidential candidate, told supporters and Bitcoin enthusiasts that policymakers should foster the development of new payments technologies like they did with the Internet.

The National Pawnbrokers Association argues that its members have been unfairly swept up in the Justice Department initiative known as Operation Choke Point. But banks say Choke Point's not to blame: they're closing the accounts of cash-intensive businesses in order to ensure compliance with anti-money-laundering rules.

Federal regulators fined the mortgage servicer Green Tree Servicing $63 million in penalties and restitution on Tuesday, alleging that it mistreated borrowers at risk of foreclosure and failed to honor modifications of loans transferred from other servicers.

Rep. Patrick McHenry said Democrats' resistance to passing certain regulatory relief measures is due to a leftward shift.

If banks consider licensed and regularly supervised pawnbrokers with many compliance responsibilities to be too risky to bank, then what Main Street businesses are safe?

Former Fed Chair Paul Volcker became the latest in a long line of policymakers to outline how they would choose to restructure the financial regulatory system in an effort to make it more efficient, saying "now is the time" to correct the Dodd-Frank Act's failure to simplify the system. Following are selected attempts and what they proposed.

New York bank regulator Benjamin Lawsky said his investigation into currency trading could go on for months, even after settlements with the U.S. Justice Department. Lawsky spoke at a conference in New York today.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was set to issue a proposal Tuesday that would require big banks to keep more detailed records on insured deposits to help expedite payouts in the event of a failure.

Consumers should receive the same level of protection whether they choose to do business with a bank or with marketplace lenders and other challengers.

Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker said his proposal fixes a "lapse" in Dodd-Frank, but some observers are split over its significance.

Google will provide deposit insurance backing for funds stored with its wallet service, positioning the technology giant along with stored-value providers that use the FDIC's "pass-through" coverage. Here's why that matters.

Golden State regulators want to bar Internet lenders from linking electronically to borrowers' bank accounts and instead require them to accept paper checks as repayment. The proposal is a technological step backward, and it could ultimately force many online lenders to pull out of the nation's largest state.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday that it has ordered Fort Knox National Company to pay more than $3 million in restitution on grounds that a subsidiary hid certain fees charged to servicemembers.

The Federal Reserve, criticized by lawmakers for being too cozy with Wall Street, is considering tougher measures to restrict bank examiners from leaving to take jobs at firms they have overseen.

Banks and public interest groups are squaring off on whether the Federal Reserve Board should extend its proposed capital surcharge on the largest and most complex U.S. banks to be included in the agency's annual stress test analyses.

Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker proposed a massive shake-up of the U.S. financial regulatory system on Monday that would consolidate oversight into three super regulators.

Sens. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., have unveiled legislation that would allow more community banks to qualify for an 18-month exam schedule rather than an annual one.

WASHINGTON — Consumers may see little change in the ultimate cost of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans despite a restructuring of certain loan fees announced Friday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.