Law and regulation

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday took yet another step in unwinding its bond buying program, paring it to $55 billion.

Benjamin Lawsky, the head of New York's Department of Financial Services, on Wednesday called for regulators to hold individuals responsible for recent industry scandals. He also warned that his agency may ban some banks from certain businesses over money-laundering violations.

The Federal Reserve Board has terminated a written agreement with Remer Bancorp. in Minnesota.

Operation Choke Point prosecutors were poised to resolve their first lawsuit against a bank, but then they ran into a federal judge in North Carolina with a fondness for citing "The Sopranos" and a deep skepticism of financial services and the settlement deal.

International Bitcoin businesses have been sizing up the African market for some time, but they face massive regulatory hurdles throughout much of the continent.

Details in recent legislation unveiled by Sens. Tim Johnson and Mike Crapo are stoking fresh concerns among Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders now embroiled in lawsuits over their share of profits from the mortgage giants.

The organization that runs the automated clearing house network wants to phase in same-day payments in three stages, but backers of a speedier system say the plan -- the second such effort in two years -- still is not enough.

Banks and credit unions are more worried about regulatory and risk management pressures than they were a year ago, according to a new report from Wolters Kluwer Financial Services.

Recent guidance from the Justice Department and Treasury was intended to clarify federal policy. Policy statements, however well meaning, do not provide true legal protection. Only legislation can do that.

Treasury's Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group will include a member of the virtual-currency community to help make regulations "better informed and more effective," David S. Cohen, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said today.

Virtual currencies will benefit from government oversight that lends credibility to the market, according to the U.S. Treasury Department's top official targeting money laundering.

The settlement monitor gave the banks credit for $20 billion in relief — less than half the total provided, since only partial credit was given for breaks other than principal reduction.

Most banks and payment processors are in no hurry to help marijuana sellers accept credit card payments where the substance can be legally sold, despite a clear opportunity to modernize what is largely a cash-based market.

The bill released by Sens. Tim Johnson and Mike Crapo would create a reinsurance fund to recoup losses on securities, establish a common securitization platform for the secondary mortgage market and open access to the secondary market for smaller lenders through a cooperative.

Once thought of as cheap capital, Tarp is getting more expensive as the dividend rate jumps from 5% to 9%. Banks that are still in the program could see the increase as one more force pushing them to consider their options.

Two House Democrats joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren in asking for a meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder about an inspector general's finding that his department’s focus on mortgage fraud has not been as strong as advertised.

Executives and senior management officials at the nation's largest banks must be held accountable for Bank Secrecy Act violations, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said Monday.

When the Target Corp. data breach was reported in December, soon followed by retailers Neiman Marcus and Michaels, public officials pounced and the financial industry took a hard look in the mirror. Federal and state officials immediately launched investigations and held hearings. Meanwhile, the industry questioned how well its electronic systems were protected, and banks and retailers squabbled. Here's a look at how government and business leaders responded to the latest scourge of computer data breaches.

With the DOJ's increasing profile as a bank enforcement agency, policymakers should seriously consider whether the benefits of continually increasing the number of regulators and the scope of regulation justify the impact on the availability and cost of credit in this country.

NewBridge Bancorp (NBBC) in Greensboro, N.C., has issued nearly $16 million in subordinated debt to redeem all the preferred stock it issued under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.