Law and regulation

American Express has promoted Edward P. Gilligan to the role of president, the company announced April 15.

Private mortgage insurance should be identified as a viable option for credit enhancement as regulators contemplate post-GSE-reform models and Basel III revisions.

Sen. Barbara Boxer asked officials Friday to look into evidence that the big banks are violating the $26 billion national mortgage settlement.

Evertec Inc., a significant acquirer processor and card issuer in Latin America and the Caribbean region for 25 years, is casting part of its business as that market's Square Inc. and looking to supercharge its payments business after its April 12 initial public offering.

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Special FDIC protection for losses suffered by failed-bank buyers still exists, but a better real estate market and bidders' increased confidence in their asset management skills are making it rarer.

Shareholders for M&T and Hudson City will meet next week to vote on the banks' merger, though a Fed review of M&T's anti-money-laundering compliance could throw a wrench in the works.

The 25th Card Forum & Expo brought hundreds of payments professionals together in Boca Raton, Fla. to share strategies and ideas. Here's a recap of some of the most talked about subjects from the event.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau "has been a good communicator" with the banking industry and "has done some positive things" but also has "a big job to do," says Bank of the West's Andy Harmening, a senior executive vice president and regional banking group head. Harmening discusses the advantages and pitfalls of dealing with the new regulatory agency at American Banker's annual Best Practices in Retail Banking Symposium.

Rep. Maxine Waters moderated a wide-ranging debate on the housing finance system Friday.

Numerous components of Basel III could empower bank regulators to increase the amount of capital banks hold, especially for large banks.

Federal law gives President Obama the ability to remove the Federal Housing Finance Agency's acting director and replace him with one of three deputies, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office concludes.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said Friday it is closely evaluating the differences in how countries implement the Basel III accord.

After months of concern about MasterCard's April l9 liability shift for ATM owners accepting Maestro cards, the National ATM Council says it has established a workable solution with the card brand's offer of fraud screening. But another ATM trade group isn't celebrating just yet.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is pressing large banks like Citi, B of A and JPMorgan to provide investors with more accurate information about structured notes, complex securities that are often sold to wealthy individuals.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Thursday extended the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program for an additional two years through 2015. The program was set to expire at the end of this year.

As part of a regular update of its finances, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said it will return amounts from the 2009 prepayment that were unnecessary.

Lawmakers grilled the OCC and Fed on Thursday over the failed independent foreclosure review, including their extensive use of independent consultants to carry out much of the work.

Share buybacks have been dormant at big banks and dividends remain slim, but capital payouts are gaining momentum after this winter’s stress tests.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have jointly adopted new rules to enable financial firms to set up programs to locate evidence of attempts to steal personal information and to deter identity theft.