Law and regulation

In the S&L crisis, regulators manipulated capital to prop up ailing thrifts. Today, regulators embrace risk-based requirements assuming they can correctly predict the future.

The big five servicers technically passed the first test of their compliance with the $25 billion national mortgage settlement, but four of them failed to meet at least one requirement and the settlement's monitor received nearly 60,000 complaints.

Many Bitcoin startups face the expensive and daunting task of obtaining multiple state money transmitter licenses. But these businesses could drum up enough support to create a more streamlined and affordable licensing process.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is spending too much on top officials' salaries, travel and a planned office renovation, Republicans said during a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.

Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, is asking for an investigation into claims that Bank of America purposefully delayed borrowers from entering the Home Affordable Modification Program.

NetSpend stockholders voted to approve the prepaid card marketer's acquisition by Total System Services, clearing the way for the payments processor to complete the deal in mid-2013.

Lawmakers and industry officials continue to issue warnings about the impact of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability-to-pay rule, despite recent efforts by the agency to amend certain provisions to assuage some industry concerns.

The OCC's third risk report cited put cybersecurity as the second biggest worry for bankers, right after struggles to maintain revenue.

In the first case of a state taking on bank consultants, New York regulators have banned Deloitte Financial Advisory Services from financial consulting for one year.

M&T had delayed plans to buy Hudson City Bancorp because of the Federal Reserve's compliance concerns, and an order made public Tuesday details what the Buffalo, N.Y., company has to fix.

Even great bankers cannot succeed when forced to compete in a market with an influx of new banks and a shortage of skilled bankers, wise directors, and experienced regulators.

Capital One Financial (COF), the lender that agreed to pay $210 million to settle U.S. charges of deceptive marketing of credit-card products, hired the nation's top immigration official to head compliance operations.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced that James Wigand will step down from his management post of the agency's new wind-down facility for systemically important companies on July 28. In 2010, Wigand began overseeing the agency's implementation of the new resolution powers under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The SEC's recent roundtable on ratings shopping in structured finance was a reminder of how efforts at reform are obstructed by a wall of denial.

President Obama said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has stayed in his post "longer than he wanted," one of the clearest signals the central bank chief will leave when his current term expires next year.

JPMorgan Chase must defend itself against allegations that it charged millions of dollars in improper fees to mortgage borrowers who were in default, a federal judge has ruled.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced that Arthur Murton will succeed James Wigand in managing the agency's responsibility under the Dodd-Frank Act to handle the wind-downs of failed behemoths.

Banks bulked up on collateralized loan obligations again in the first quarter for risk management and other purposes. But new deposit insurance rules are expected to deter them from buying more.

As the volume of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. suits against failed-bank officers and directors continues to rise, few cases are approaching anything close to an outcome.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has hired a lobbyist for the force-placed insurance industry as its point man in reforming a market allegedly riddled with industry kickbacks.