Law and regulation

American Airlines and US Airways have argued that the combined airline will be good for "competition, consumers and choice." But just days before the merger's closing, changes that the airlines have made to a popular credit card reward may end up having the opposite effect.

A team of international regulators delivered a sweeping report on Thursday calling for significant changes to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's supervision process, including pulling examiners-in-residence out of the biggest banks and making changes to the bank rating system.

The Fed's vision of a vastly improved payments system within 10 years is getting a chilly reception from a group representing the nation's largest banks.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Thursday that regulators will release a strict version of Dodd-Frank's Volcker Rule that would ban proprietary trading and investment in hedge and equity funds by banks.

The city of Newark, N.J., is moving forward with a foreclosure-prevention plan that could involve using the power of eminent domain to restructure underwater mortgages.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board issued revised standards on Thursday dictating how banks should oversee service providers, including consultants.

China's central bank barred financial institutions from handling Bitcoin transactions, moving to regulate the virtual currency after an 89-fold jump in its value sparked a surge of investor interest in the country.

American Banker's digital news coverage took top honors at the 2013 Eddie & Ozzie Awards Thursday.

There are now less than 6,900 banks in the United States, the smallest number of financial companies since the Great Depression — and bankers expect the industry to contract even more in coming years. American Banker editors discuss the stakes for community banks and why the country still needs thousands of small banks.

As consumer groups turn their attention to smaller institutions, they bring lending disparities to regulators’ attention. The regulators seem to take these issues more seriously than during bank megamergers’ heyday.

A decision by Popular (BPOP) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to reduce its stake in a former technology subsidiary could help it exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

There seems to be undue emphasis being placed on a provision that, generally, would have done nothing to avoid the recent financial crisis. Ultimately, however, the Volcker Rule has to be judged like any other regulation: do its benefits outweigh its costs?

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew vowed Thursday that regulators will release a strict version of a long-awaited regulation that would ban proprietary trading and investment in hedge and equity funds by banks.

Several Canadian banks have taken on the challenge of managing and protecting their customers' usernames and passwords across banking and government sites. U.S. banks are invited to join a similar pilot starting in the U.S.

Regulators are furiously working to release a slew of rules due by yearend, including the controversial Volcker Rule, a ban on proprietary trading that has taken more than three years to finalize. Following are the top regulations likely to be released in the next few weeks.

Lawmakers debated draft legislation aimed at reducing duplicative or inconsistent bank regulations on Wednesday, though the bipartisan effort is already drawing some criticism from Democrats.

United Community Financial (UCFC) in Youngstown, Ohio, has been released from a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and state regulators.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is urging big banks to voluntarily disclose their contributions to think tanks, arguing that donations could influence policymaking.

Across the 12 Federal Reserve districts, nearly half saw some signs of improvement.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule Tuesday that allows it to examine any nonbank servicer that handles more than one million student loan borrower accounts.