Law and regulation

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Wednesday that Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase would pay a combined $950 million to settle accusations they manipulated foreign exchange trading.

Many foreign banks are confused about how the Volcker Rule applies to them and whether they are required to establish compliance programs for it in the first place.

Third-party vendors will receive a lot more security scrutiny under new Payment Card Industry security requirements taking hold next year, if merchants are vigilant in following the new compliance guidelines.

WASHINGTON — Unions and left-leaning public interest groups will meet personally with Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen on Friday to ask for greater transparency at the agency, including in its selection of new regional bank heads.

While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s reporting of growing use of prepaid products among the underserved stokes concerns about high costs, some note they can be a bridge to more traditional accounts.

Financial industry groups are planning to call on the Treasury Department and other financial regulators this week to provide more transparency to the process for designating a nonbank as a potential threat to the economy.

Most investors don't see regulation in black-and-white terms. The rest of the financial industry should follow their lead.

New York's top banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky, who used his leverage to stiffen penalties against some of the world's largest financial institutions, will probably step down next year to take a job in the private sector, said a person familiar with the matter.

Connecticut and New York are the only states to have established institutions specifically called green banks to stimulate lending on clean energy projects, but others could soon join them following the election of green bank-friendly governors in nine states.

New York's top banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky, who used his leverage to stiffen penalties against some of the world's largest financial institutions, will probably step down next year to take a job in the private sector, said a person familiar with the matter.

Nacha CEO Janet Estep discusses how her organization polices bad actors on the automated clearing house network, why it doesn't single out specific merchant categories as risky, and how nudging the industry toward "push" payments will help.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made some key changes to its compliance guide for the three major mortgage rules that took effect earlier this year.

Federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch may soon replace Attorney General Eric Holder, leaving bankers wondering whether she will be tougher on institutions than her predecessor.

The National Credit Union Administration claims a Deutsche Bank unit was negligent as a trustee overseeing mortgage-backed securities and played a role in the failure of five corporate credit unions.

Regulators are expecting financial institutions to provide detailed modeling of deposits and ever-greater documentation in the next round of stress tests, bankers and consultants say.

The Treasury Department and its anti-money laundering unit find themselves on the defensive as bankers say they're cutting ties with entire business sectors as a result of blunt enforcement efforts.

Fannie Mae executives are confident they can responsibly administer a new 3% down payment program to ensure it's an effective tool for increasing access to credit.

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case related to the use of disparate impact theory to charge organizations with discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. The case highlights a key problem with current interpretation of the statute: it ignores a basic statistical pattern that makes it hard to determine which practices would produce a better outcome for protected groups.

Well-managed banks have the opportunity to issue shares and strengthen their capital base before new requirements take effect and the markets adjust to a low-risk environment.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed Frontier Bank FSB in Palm Desert, Calif.