Law and regulation

Banks and insurers are expected to make the case at closed-door hearings being held later this week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency that forced-placed homeowner's policies should remain the purview of state regulators. The discussions are part of a broader debate over how to reform the force-placed insurance market. The controversy revolves around claims by consumer advocates, state regulators and others that banks and insurers have colluded to drive up the cost of such coverage, which is "force-placed" on often struggling homeowners who allow their standard hazard policies to lapse.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Wednesday it would give the seven largest national banks more time to push out their swap activities as required by the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a report in which it found widespread misuse of overdraft fees among banks. Agency acting director Richard Cordray warned of potential harm to consumers and indicated that action is likely. American Banker editors discuss what the CFPB found how it's likely to respond in a market worth $32 billion in revenues to the banking industry.

The Fed’s research raises more questions than it answers, among them: Is the researcher right when he says the great bankers he interviewed could run a bank successfully anywhere, anytime?

Companies that purchase delinquent accounts secured an estimated $230 million in default judgments against New Yorkers in 2011, according to a report from the New Economy Project, but failed to prove they owned the debt in a majority of cases.

Capital rules, long considered the backbone of a safe and sound banking system, are evolving to meet other policy goals, like forcing the largest banks to get smaller.

Banks are incessantly lobbying the CFTC to hold off on cross-border derivatives rules until other countries write their own regulations. But that could take longer than the next crisis.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will be more flexible with regulations on minority-owned banks in order to help them raise capital.

Many of bankers' concerns and fears about the FFIEC's proposed social media rules are unfounded, says Elizabeth Khalil, senior policy analyst at the FDIC.

Banks that still hold Tarp funds face the prospect of dividend rates rising to 9% from 5% at a time when many of those institutions are still struggling.

Urban Partnership Bank in Chicago has been designated a minority depositary institution by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

M&A consolidation, improved portfolio performance and legislation leveling the playing field provide incentive for midsize banks to relaunch card programs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders sued the U.S., alleging that the 2008 takeover of the housing lending giants was illegal and cost investors billions of dollars.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper's office announced an extended court order against one of the largest debt settlement firms in the U.S. that will keep the company from collecting money.

Consumers are still being gouged by high overdraft fees and abrupt account closures despite new restrictions on banks designed to protect depositors, according to a study released Tuesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Treasury Department has begun auctioning more than $51 million of stock that it acquired through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The FHFA has yet to post to its website any public comments related to a proposed ban on commissions and reinsurance agreements in force-placed insurance. So we're posting some obtained from key voices in the industry and government.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is considering reforms to force-placed insurance aimed at giving the public a better deal. So why isn't it letting the public in on its planning?

The National Security Agency's PRISM surveillance program has sparked a major outcry over phone monitoring, but the less-publicized government accumulation of credit card and other payments data can provide far more granular intelligence, according to payments experts.

Pennsylvania Dutch country could get the first de novo bank to open in the U.S. in more than two years.