Law and regulation

Top lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee debated the value of the Dodd-Frank Act in dueling reports on Monday, commemorating the financial reform law's fourth anniversary.

As the Dodd-Frank law turns four years old, policymakers appear increasingly willing to revisit a key requirement that says banks with $50 billion of assets are systemically risky.

Recent calls in Congress to take a closer look at the quasi-governmental Farm Credit System and its regulator have pleased bankers, who want to bring attention to their complaints of unfair competition.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday that it is accepting consumer complaints on prepaid cards and other non-bank products such as credit repair services and pawnshop loans.

SunTrust Banks is planning to sell $2.1 billion in government-guaranteed, performing residential mortgages this quarter, after selling $325 million last quarter, to meet proposed Basel III regulatory liquidity coverage ratios.

Dodd-Frank encourages the pursuit of financial stability at the expense of economic growth. Congress can fix the problem by amending the law so that regulators are required to balance both goals, writes Paul H. Kupiec of the American Enterprise Institute.

Decisions about how to apply U.S. swaps trading rules abroad should be based less on fears of risk to the financial system and more on considerations of market integrity, according to attorney Timothy Karpoff.

Supporters of Bitcoin and other digital currencies have created a trade association called the Chamber of Digital Commerce to make their voices heard in Washington.

Regulators on Friday closed Eastside Commercial Bank in Conyers, Ga., the 13th institution to fail this year.

The financial services industry and others are seeking better metrics for analyzing the economic impact of the regulatory reform law, with some saying it is hampering the recovery and having other unintended effects.

The Justice Department's Operation Choke Point isn't really about combatting fraud, says Jason Oxman, CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association. Federal regulators simply don't like high-risk merchants, such as payday lenders and guns dealers, he says.

The California Republican, who's one of the most vocal critics of Operation Choke Point, trained his sights Thursday on Assistant Attorney General Stuart Delery.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, as divisions over a competing measure continue to stymie House leaders.

The government hit JPMorgan Chase hard in its mortgage settlement last year, but that history did not stop President Obama from using a JPMorgan credit card to purchase barbecue after a recent economic speech in Texas.

The banking industry is pushing back against a plan released this week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to publicize more details about consumers' individual complaints about financial companies.

The New York Department of Financial Services has released proposed framework for its much-anticipated BitLicense. Though the agency describes its proposal as a balanced approach that does not stifle innovation, its rules might be considered too strict for many companies.

New York's financial regulation chief is proposing a "BitLicense" regulatory regime that he says will protect consumers and root out wrongdoing without stifling innovation by virtual-currency businesses in the state.

A recent article by Thad Woodard proposed slashing the number of Federal Home Loan Banks in order to free up funds for community lending. But the Home Loan Banks' member institutions are already empowered to push for consolidation any time they choose, writes the FHLBanks' Steven F. Rosenbaum.

Nonbank mortgage lenders pose greater risks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because they have limited government oversight and generally weaker finances than banks, according to a government watchdog report.

Under a measure passed Wednesday, the use of federal funds to punish banks for providing accounts to pot businesses would be prohibited.