Law and regulation

Capital One has received requests for information from federal regulators about its anti-money-laundering program and check casher clients, as authorities lean on banks to do a more thorough job policing their customers — and their customers' customers.

During an unusually aggressive bout of questioning for Yellen, particularly from a lawmaker generally regarded as supportive of the Fed chair, Warren questioned comments made by Fed General Counsel Scott Alvarez last year raising concerns with aspects of the financial reform law.

U.S. Century Bank inDoral, Fla., has received regulatory approval for its plan to raise $65 million in capital, according to a news report.

Community bank earnings surged 28% to $4.8 billion during the fourth quarter, compared to a 7.3% decline for the industry as a whole, according to a report released Tuesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

WASHINGTON — An increase in litigation costs at a few large banks and lower noninterest income led to a year-over-year decline in earnings, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the world's biggest banks manipulated prices of precious metals such as silver and gold, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The unfortunate reality is that those who most need credit counseling help are also the hardest to reach. In a Q&A, the agency's financial literacy honcho, Gail Hillebrand, talks about efforts to empower the vast swath of American who aren't terribly savvy.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., reintroduced legislation Monday that would require the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to be nominated by the White House and confirmed by the Senate.

Sheila Bair, the former chairman of the FDIC, has the answer for significantly reducing the regulatory burden on small banks: give regulators the power to exempt institutions with less than $10 billion of assets from any new or existing regulation.

There's nothing wrong with big banks gaining market share because they offer the products and services that customers want. But there's a problem when big banks can beat off their smaller rivals with a club fashioned by legislators and regulators.

Taiwan Cooperative Bank has been cleared by the Federal Reserve Board to open a branch in New York.

The fight over the Dodd-Frank threshold for enhanced regulations is the first big legislative battle for a loose coalition of regional banks.

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Friday announced the second stage of a mandated review of banking rules meant to identify opportunities for relief.

WASHINGTON — Frank Keating, the chief executive of the American Bankers Association, is stepping down at the end of the year and a search for his successor has already begun.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the Fed's proper role in speeding up the payment system; the perennial TBTF debate; and the privacy implications of anti-laundering regulations.

The Subsidy Reserve Act of 2015 could solve "too big to fail" and level the playing field for smaller banks by requiring the largest financial institutions to accumulate capital equal to the amount of the market subsidy they receive.

Fannie Mae reported net income of $14.2 billion last year, a sharp decline from the record $84 billion in 2013 that was inflated by accounting for tax credits.

CFPB officials are keeping a close watch on the Qualified Mortgage and ability-to-repay rules to gauge whether further changes should be made. But mortgage numbers don't give a clear picture on what kind of impact they've had.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will continue its work to ensure credit reports are fair and freely given to consumers, agency director Richard Cordray said Thursday.

Online banking, ATMs and other advances have curtailed face-to-face transactions, but new Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. research says the brick-and-mortar office isn't going anywhere just yet.