Law and regulation

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.

Charlie Shrem, the former Bitcoin Foundation Inc. executive who pleaded guilty to charges tied to the illicit online bazaar "Silk Road," was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge who rejected his bid to remain free and "change the world."

Regulators on Friday closed Northern Star Bank in Mankato, Minn., the 18th institution to fail this year.

Federal bank regulators increased the asset-size thresholds for the definition of a "small bank" and "intermediate small bank" for certain bank exams on Friday.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

The $4 trillion in mortgages serviced by the largest financial institutions slightly improved in the third quarter with more loans back in performing status and fewer in serious delinquency, a regulatory report said Friday.

The Federal Housing Administration is facing severe challenges next year as some pressure it to lower premiums to deal with new competition from the government-sponsored enterprises, even while its insurance fund remains weak and it faces added scrutiny from GOP lawmakers.

A year ago we asked BankThink contributors to make bold predictions about how the financial industry would evolve in 2014. Here's a look back at their forecasts and the actual outcomes.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a division of the Treasury Department, has assessed a $1 million civil penalty against MoneyGram International's former chief compliance officer.

Benjamin Lawsky, New York's top financial regulator, sharply criticized banks for their failure to speed up the payment system, warning that the government may step in if they continue to lag behind.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a division of the Treasury Department, has assessed a $1 million civil penalty against MoneyGram International's former chief compliance officer.

Benjamin Lawsky, New York's top regulator, sharply criticized banks on Thursday for their failure to speed up the payment system, threatening that the government may step in if they continue to lag behind.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Stability Oversight Council voted Thursday to designate Metlife as a systemically important financial institution, the insurance company revealed, making it the fourth nonbank to receive that designation.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council put a careful foot forward Thursday on the path of designating the asset management industry as a potential economic threat.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau joined two attorneys general in an enforcement action against Freedom Stores for how it collected debts from service members.

Federal regulators announced Thursday that they are delaying implementation of certain aspects of the Volcker Rule's prohibition on bank ownership of private equity and hedge funds, giving institutions an additional two years to comply.

Because of a regulatory quirk, Lending Club and its competitors depend on banks to issue their loans. The set-up raises questions about the regulatory outlook for the fast-growing marketplace lending sector.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is keeping up the drumbeat on the importance of managing interest rate risk.

New York financial regulator Benjamin Lawsky revised his proposal for policing virtual-currency companies to eliminate some rules that Silicon Valley claimed would crush the fledgling industry.

The repeal of the swaps push-out provision will reduce banks' operational costs, but it makes little difference in terms of increasing the size of the government safety net. The reason: with or without the rule, the government protects the swaps contracts of the largest institutions.