Law and regulation

Banks' post-crisis flight to caution has drawn comparisons to low-risk public utilities, but some institutions are seeing opportunities to take new risks again under the watch of new regulation.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday named Michael Dean as the director of the agency's Atlanta region. He had been serving as acting director of the region since April.

This may be the year that banks finally adapt to the new risk landscape by shaking up their boards, bolstering cybersecurity and increasing vendor management.

This year is a rare chance for lawmakers to actually get something done due to the fact that it isn't an election year. But will anything happen? Bankers are hoping for changes to Dodd-Frank, while regulators are moving forward with other big changes. Following are the policymakers to keep an eye on in 2015.

Mortgage lenders are hoping the new Republican-controlled Congress will be more receptive to making changes to the "qualified mortgage" rule.

With Republicans now controlling both chambers of Congress and signals from Democrats that they are open to alterations, revisions to Dodd-Frank are at the top of the agenda in addition to other subjects, like terrorism insurance and housing finance reform.

JPMorgan Chase's parts are probably worth more to investors than the whole after regulators proposed tougher rules penalizing firms for size and complexity, according to Goldman Sachs.

Last year regulators tightened their grip on Wall Street, while banks were caught off guard by emerging cybersecurity and reputational risks.

The state that brought high-cost consumer loans to the rest of the country may finally be ready to reverse course.

A number of bankers and regulators are concerned about declining credit standards. The problem is real— and it is also endemic to credit markets.

An expected ballot measure, which is backed by a prominent Democrat and Republican, would serve as a referendum on South Dakota's decades-old decision to deregulate interest rates.

Brazil's central bank has approved a joint venture between Banco do Brasil SA, the nation's largest bank by assets, and card payment processor Cielo SA, but the bank cannot claim accounting gains in its projected profits.

The CFPB’s rapid pace is likely to continue this year as it tackles some of its trickiest areas yet, including payday loans, debt collection and overdraft protection, which are likely to have a significant impact on the financial services arena.

The payments industry is quickly adapting to new technology, new regulations and new consumer demands. Here are 15 of the industry's major transformations already in progress.

The coming year presents a golden opportunity for the payments industry to push for a repeal of the Durbin Amendment.

Fearless forecasts from BankThink's stable of industry veterans, experts and critics.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is in an uncomfortable spot in 2015, caught between a Republican majority already critical of its recent actions and an Obama administration bent on increasing access to credit in part by using the agency's powers.

Regulators' power to order restitutions is meant to be limited, but some courts are taking a broad interpretation of a key statute.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into whether hackers working on behalf of any U.S. financial institutions disabled servers that were being used by Iran to attack the websites of major banks last year.

The council will confront several challenges in the new year, including a potential formal contest from life insurer MetLife over its recent designation as a systemically important financial institution and ongoing efforts to investigate the asset management industry.