Law and regulation

The Senate Banking Committee approved legislation to reform the Federal Housing Administration on Wednesday to help stabilize the agency's beleaguered reverse mortgages program and strengthen its underwriting standards.

Federal regulators issued proposed guidance to help mid-tier banks comply with stress test requirements this October.

Just when banks thought they had adjusted to life under the Durbin cap on debit card interchange fees, a court has deal them a huge and unexpected blow. Bucking the usual judicial practice of deferring to regulators, a federal judge has ruled that the Fed set the cap too high at 21 cents and disregarded the intent of the Dodd-Frank Act. Expect appeals and a protracted fight that could take years to settle the matter.

The Federal Reserve disregarded Congress's intent when deciding how much banks can charge merchants for debit-card transactions, a judge ruled, rejecting Dodd-Frank-imposed regulations governing "swipe" fees.

The Federal Reserve disregarded Congress's intent when deciding how much banks can charge merchants for debit-card transactions, a judge ruled, rejecting Dodd-Frank-imposed regulations governing "swipe" fees.

An Oregon woman was awarded $18.6 million by a federal jury after spending two years unsuccessfully trying to get Equifax Information Services to fix mistakes on her credit report.

Sen. David Vitter is vowing to push for "tough" reforms to the Federal Housing Administration when the Senate Banking Committee takes up a bill to implement key changes at the agency on Wednesday.

The leaders of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission were pressed by lawmakers on Tuesday about their progress implementing new rules under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators released proposed guidance on Tuesday designed to help medium-sized banks comply with company-run stress test requirements that kick in this fall.

A relief package proposed by three senators last week has reinforced hope that Capitol Hill will ease community banks' regulatory burden by yearend.

The City of Richmond has sent offer letters to roughly 32 mortgage servicers and trustees requesting that it be allowed to buy underwater home loans at reduced prices. If the servicers balk, city officials say they will seek to seize the properties through eminent domain.

Lawmakers pressed heads of the SEC and CFTC at a hearing on Tuesday about their progress implementing and enforcing new rules under the Dodd-Frank Act.

While many people think of Bitcoin as a currency, Jaron Lukasiewicz, CEO and co-founder of Coinsetter, says Bitcoin should be thought of more as a payments infrastructure, allowing quick, inexpensive funds transfer. But for Bitcoin to thrive, banks must agree with this perspective.

A move by Pennsylvania lawmakers to abolish the state's savings-and-loan association charter comes as the number of thrifts nationwide continues to decline and the "S&L" name loses its former appeal.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago entered a written agreement with the $87 million-asset lender on July 23, Fed officials said Tuesday.

The former House Financial Services Committee chairman and Sheila Bair, the former FDIC chairman, both joined Twitter this week, with Barney Frank earning a surprise celebrity endorsement.

Price competition remains elusive in the market for loans to consumers with poor credit histories. Here's why.

Coastal Bank in Savannah, Ga., has been freed from a regulatory order.

Visa and MasterCard have agreed to share their common application identifier technology, enabling EMV-chip based debit transactions to originate from a single application while allowing merchants a choice of networks for routing.

A new self-regulatory organization for crypto-currencies could do a lot to advance the industry, but risks becoming co-opted by the government and undermining the core value proposition of digital cash.