Law and regulation

The need that drives millions of people to seek out small loans isn’t going away. Lenders can fill the gap by restructuring payment models, focusing on a borrower’s ability to repay and developing a variety of solutions.

The virtual currency and payment system "has allowed users to participate in illicit activity, while also being highly unstable and disruptive to our economy," Sen. Joe Manchin wrote to regulators in a public letter released Wednesday.

Do we really want banks to be stable, profitable and internationally competitive or do we want them to be cash cows for Congress?

Chances are remote that Congress will pass a big bank tax into law this year, but House Republicans' sudden embrace of the idea suggests it has staying power.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wants federal regulators to ban Bitcoin.

Thirteen Democratic lawmakers are encouraging the Department of Justice not to cave in the face of Republican opposition to a crackdown on online payday lenders.

Following a series of high-profile data breaches, legislators in the nation's largest state are kicking off a debate that has nationwide implications.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s fourth-quarter report on industry health showed continued challenges to growth, but the second straight increase in net interest margins is a promising sign for the future.

Representative Walter Jones was a rare Republican who backed tough banking regulations after the 2008 economic collapse. Now Wall Street wants him out of office.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with four state attorneys general, announced Wednesday they had filed a civil lawsuit against ITT Educational Services, one of the most expensive for-profit education providers.

New York regulator Benjamin Lawsky raised concern about conflicts of interest in mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial's business relationships, warning that a "tangled web of conflicts could create incentives that harm borrowers and push homeowners unduly into foreclosure."

A tax plan from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp would further limit the mortgage-interest break and end the deduction for state and local taxes, according to a nonpartisan congressional summary.

JPMorgan Chase is the first bank to adopt a new disclosure box for its prepaid cards, developed by Pew Charitable Trusts.

The Federal Reserve Board has released Metropolitan Bank Holding in New York from a January 2011 enforcement action.

In the FDIC's fourth quarter earnings report, the agency said loan buybacks fell to their lowest level in 5 years.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM:US) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS:US) were among 18 financial firms that agreed to stop participating in some surveys of analyst sentiment while New York investigates early access to the information.

The most notable quotes from American Banker stories of the previous week. Readers are encouraged to add their own observations in the Comments fields at the bottom of each slide.

Bank of America Corp., the lender that turned to Warren Buffett in 2011 for a capital injection, reached a deal with the billionaire's company to change terms so the investment is treated more favorably by regulators.

WASHINGTON -- Banks and thrifts earned $40.3 billion in the fourth quarter -- a nearly 17% rise from a year earlier -- largely due once again to reduced loan loss provisions, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wednesday.

The framework released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology should serve as an important tool for banks in meeting regulators’ heightened expectations for managing cyber risk.