Law and regulation

In his last speech as Federal Reserve Board chairman, Ben Bernanke said the central bank's steps to support wholesale funding markets were "as important, if not more important" than other actions taken during the crisis.

Reps. John Delaney, D-Md., John Carney, D-Del., and Jim Himes, D-Conn., unveiled the outlines of a new housing finance reform plan on Thursday that would provide an explicit government backstop for the market, while requiring increased private sector participation.

Regulators' attempt to carve out an exemption for small banks from a key part of the Volcker Rule satisfied most institutions that feared getting swallowed up in the Dodd-Frank Act provision, but left others still vulnerable to the regulation and facing significant losses.

It is easy to see the stress tests as an annoying distraction to banks. However, if banks embrace them, these tests can be a useful arrow in the risk management quiver.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed official guidelines describing its "heightened expectations" for how large banks and thrifts control risk.

The Federal Reserve Board took too long to issue a plan to limit banks' physical commodities activities, several Senate Democrats said on Wednesday.

The bill reintroduced by Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., comes on the heels of customer data breaches at multiple high-profile retailers.

In an attempt to combat money laundering, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is banning anonymous cash deposits into accounts at branches.

Community Bank-Wheaton/Glen Ellyn in Illinois has been released from a cease-and-desist order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and state regulators.

House Republicans were sharply critical Wednesday of regulators' final Volcker Rule, warning that it adds an unnecessary and costly layer of regulation.

WASHINGTON — Changes in overall loan balances were muted in the last six weeks of 2013, with bankers in some regions reporting minor growth and those in other parts of the country seeing volume remain stagnant, the Federal Reserve Board said Wednesday.

The American Bankers Association announced Wednesday that it will drop its request for emergency relief in pending litigation over the Volcker Rule, but declined to stop the suit entirely.

Policymakers say they want to bring "underbanked" groups into the traditional banking system for safer consumer options, small-business growth, a sound banking system and other laudable reasons. But today's rules and aggressive enforcement work against these goals.

Apple will refund about $32 million to consumers after the government alleged the company charged minors for mobile app purchases without their parents' consent.

President Barack Obama plans to nominate Maria Contreras-Sweet, founder of a Latino-owned community bank in Los Angeles, as the next head of the Small Business Administration, according to multiple news reports.

Regions Financial (RF) is discontinuing its controversial short-term consumer loan product, the company announced Wednesday.

Bank employees may have profited by trading ahead of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac swap orders, Reuters reported, citing a description of the practice in a Federal Bureau of Investigation intelligence bulletin.

Under an interim rule released late Tuesday, most small banks -- and some large ones -- would not have to take writedowns on consolidated debt obligations backed by trust-preferred securities.

In the wake of a new edict from Washington, the San Francisco bank must decide whether to discontinue the controversial consumer loan product.

Just a few days after it took effect, House lawmakers began a renewed push for amendments to the "qualified mortgage" rule, arguing it will unintentionally squeeze out key borrowers.