Law and regulation

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citi insist that the Federal Housing Administration will compensate them for all foreclosure losses. But if the banks’ underwriting proves shoddy, they could be on the hook for billions of dollars.

Bankers warn that a default on certain Treasuries could put market collateral at risk, harm overnight lending, drain key sources of liquidity from the market and shatter consumer confidence.

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed paperwork Monday to merge the two companies' securitization platforms into a single unit, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Community bankers should opt out of the requirement to deduct unrealized gains and losses from AOCI; be aware of the challenges and opportunities that Basel III creates for M&A and capital raising; and stay on guard for changes to risk weighting of mortgages, experts say.

Several community banks are scrambling to address Tarp balances, either by selling or refinancing, as the dividend rate on those shares is set to nearly double.

Placing the Federal Housing Administration inside the proposed Federal Mortgage Insurance Corp. would provide singular oversight for balancing the post-GSE mortgage market and a fully federal guaranteed market for specified market segments.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may gain an upper-hand in the mortgage sphere because of regulators' plan to unite two separate mortgage standards mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act.

If history bears any indication of where this fight will wind up, New York’s top bank regulator, Benjamin Lawsky, could be headed for a long, slow, expensive defeat.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

PNC Financial Services (PNC) in Pittsburgh has named a new top lawyer.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — not one of the six agencies defining so-called "Qualified Residential Mortgages" — could still determine the future of the label under a recent proposal.

Researchers at a Federal Reserve conference in St. Louis provided data backing small bankers' concerns about regulation and competition, though it is unclear if the findings will led to meaningful change.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jeremy Stein on Friday laid out potential regulatory remedies to help lessen the risks associated with fire sales.

Members of the Utah Bankers Association had a meeting at the Treasury Department canceled thanks to the federal shutdown, but they managed to get in other work and play during a visit to the nation's capital this week.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau charged one of the nation's largest payment processors, Meracord LLC, with a $1.4 million fine.

Bosses from some of the nation's top banks enjoyed a rare White House photo op in recent days when the administration turned to them to be part of the solution to the financial problems plaguing the capital rather than part of the problem. American Banker editors discuss whether the episode will recast bankers in a more flattering light and what perils the political mess holds for the industry.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke bit on James Bullard's joke about the superiority of St. Louis' baseball team over Washington's, but he avoided the bait to discuss the federal shutdown.

The Debit Interchange Fee Study Act called for a six-month regulatory study on the cost of the rules and their impact on consumers. There are good reasons to revisit that approach now.

WASHINGTON — The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing next week examining the possibility of the U.S. defaulting on its debt.