Law and regulation

Banks are likely to protest new Basel rules that would require them to hold more capital against their exposure to central counterparties, but the standard is necessary to prevent the fast-growing counterparties from becoming "too big to fail."

More than a year into his leadership atop the powerful banking panel, it's still unclear whether Rep. Jeb Hensarling is willing to trade his ideological beliefs for the messy reality that is dealmaking in today's Congress.

Ties between presidents and top bankers have loosened over time as armies of handlers have intervened. The result is a system in which the bankers' sense of civic duty has weakened, even as the concentration of assets in their hands has come to pose mounting systemic risk. That's according to Nomi Prins, author of All the Presidents' Bankers.

In a victory for banks, global financial regulators revised rules governing how much money must be set aside to cover losses by swaps traders, backing away from guidelines that firms warned would destabilize the $693 trillion derivatives market.

Regulators look at eight risk categories when determining a bank's health, but it's how banks deal with three in particular — interest rate risk, liquidity risk and IT/operational risk -- that could make or break them.

Bill Demchak, PNC's chief executive, gives a candid and detailed interview on a range of subjects, from the CFPBs crackdown on indirect auto lending (misguided, in his view) to the Fed's proposed Basel liquidity rule to housing finance reform.

WASHINGTON — Regulators slammed Bank of America on Wednesday with their toughest enforcement action to date on shady marketing and billing practices for add-on products like identity protection, forcing it to pay $772 million in restitution and fines.

The White House is considering two community bankers to fill an open seat on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, according to two people with knowledge of the process.

A study released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says statistical trends suggest that community banks have been resilient and will remain relevant, despite the rapid decline in charters.

Regulators slammed Bank of America on Wednesday with their toughest enforcement action to date on shady marketing and billing practices for add-on products like identity protection, forcing it to pay $772 million in restitution and fines. But Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials indicated more actions are on their way.

CertusBank has terminated its top executive team, effective immediately, the $1.7 billion-asset bank announced Wednesday.

If regulators really want banks to invest more heavily in their communities then they should consider giving banks some reward, such as reduced deposit insurance premiums, for achieving a top CRA rating.

WASHINGTON — Bank of America will pay $772 million to settle allegations by two regulators that it engaged in unfair fee collection and marketing related to credit card add-on products.

WASHINGTON — Bank of America will pay $772 million to settle allegations by two regulators that it engaged in unfair fee collection and marketing related to credit card add-on products.

More than a century ago, the nation's leading bankers applied their considerable political leverage to creating a central bank that would act as their backstop in times of crisis. In so doing, they institutionalized "too big to fail," created a "reckless co-dependency" and a Fed-first mantra within the banks that gives ordinary borrowers short shrift in times of financial stress. So says Nomi Prins, author of All the Presidents' Bankers.

There's drama to come as regulators finalize a proposal requiring banks to self-assess their track records on diversity.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is projecting a nearly 8% decline in deposit insurance assessments this year with improvement in the indicators that determine institutions’ rates.

Members of the House Financial Services Committee grilled chief lawyers from the banking agencies on Tuesday, airing a wide range of grievances, including some related to a temporary Volcker Rule exemption and a Department of Justice crackdown on the payday loan industry.

The nationwide trade group for community banks is asking the Department of Justice to suspend its push to keep questionable merchants out of the mainstream payments system, arguing it is impacting community banks' competitiveness.

The eight largest financial institutions will have to raise roughly $68 billion over the next several years to meet a tough new leverage ratio finalized by regulators on Tuesday.