Law and regulation

Community banks go against their own interests when they oppose regulations that mainly affect big banks and leave smaller institutions unscathed.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is urging the Department of Defense to finalize a proposal meant to stop lenders from offering expensive credit to military personnel.

The head of the Financial Action Task Force, an international group that sets money-laundering standards, warns that many foreign institutions are now feeling the effects of the push inside American banks to cut off large swaths of customers.

The banking industry and federal regulators are struggling to find a middle ground between financial inclusion and preventing bad guys from gaining access to the mainstream financial system — but it doesn't appear a solution is coming anytime soon.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued four consent orders in November, according to its latest monthly roundup of enforcement actions published Monday.

Centralizing reporting and response functions can help banks better spot compliance shortcomings. It's also a good way to foster trust with regulators.

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Visa and MasterCard halted services in Crimea after a new round of U.S. sanctions, according to multiple reports.

2014 was a big year for payments. Disruption came from within the financial services industry and from outsiders like Apple and Walmart. Mainstream payment companies had to respond to these new competitors as well as adapt to fresh attention from regulators and fraudsters.

With Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reserves erasing crisis-era losses, the agency is staring down a critical decision on how to implement a congressionally required increase in the insurance fund.

It is unclear if the wave of state actions signals a burgeoning state scrutiny of consumer finance companies or if state enforcers will only employ this new approach on occasion.

Federal regulators formally issued a final risk retention rule for mortgage securitizations, a long-awaited and hotly debated measure that is nevertheless expected to have little market impact when it takes effect a year from now.

It isn't just payday lenders and money-services firms that are being ditched by banks lately. Community banks are getting cut off too.

Medical debt may prove to be one of the complex areas that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will tackle in its highly anticipated rulemaking on debt collection next year.

In a meeting with Fed chair Janet Yellen, one community banker emphasized the need for a tiered approach to regulation and enforcement.

A Defense Department proposal to strengthen financial protections for military personnel is still too weak, according to attorneys general from 20 states.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Monday it has approved the merger of the Federal Home Loan banks of Des Moines and Seattle, giving approval to the first voluntary combination in the history of the system.

WASHINGTON — International banking regulators proposed sweeping revisions to the standards for assessing and capitalizing credit risk, calling for less reliance on external credit ratings and greater sensitivity and comparability of risks between banks.

Investor confidence in Ocwen Financial was clearly shaken Monday after New York state regulators forced the firm's founder out as part of a $150 million settlement.

The repeal of a key Dodd-Frank Act swaps provision earlier this month was a blow to progressive advocates and lawmakers, but former Rep. Barney Frank says there’s still reason to be optimistic about the future of financial regulation.