Law and regulation

For many small and midsize banks, AML is all about compliance and getting through an examination without too many bruises. The means overshadow the ends.

The Federal Reserve Board has approved FirstMerit's pending acquisition of Citizens Republic Bancorp (CRBC) in Flint, Mich.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has terminated a written agreement with Intervest National Bank in New York.

Directors should recognize that appropriate professional behavior reinforced by a sense of belonging to a quality franchise constitutes a decisive competitive advantage.

Patrick Fahey's last act as a turnaround specialist ended with the 2010 failure of Frontier Bank. First Sound Bank in Seattle is poised for a much different outcome.

Even as debit networks and other participants finally get on the same page for EMV chip-card acceptance, the U.S. is still a long way off from widespread consumer adoption of EMV cards.

Virtual currencies have finally garnered enough of a following to make the U.S. government react. Bitcoin's a big focus, but even companies like Facebook and Amazon.com may have to take FinCEN's new rules into account.

Cypriot lawmakers approved capital controls and legislation to wind down banks as they scrambled to secure a European bailout and avert a financial collapse of the Mediterranean island.

Demands for action to fix "too big to fail" are near a fever pitch. Following are the most likely scerios for how the debate is resolved.

The Senate is expected to pass two budget amendments Friday designed to break up the big banks and prohibit the use of certain fee hikes at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce government spending.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg accidentally took the entire allotted time for a speech on Friday to talk about his personal life growing up in the Bronx.

Sen. Tim Johnson, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has said he will announce a decision about whether to run for office again by the end of the month.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has terminated enforcement actions against two banks: First Bancshares of Mountain Grove, Mo., and CIB Marine Bancshares of Waukesha, Wis.

A Rasmussen Reports survey has found that 50% of U.S. adults would favor a plan to break up the largest banks.

Auto dealership advocates are warning that costs will rise for borrowers if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau presses banks to curtail auto loan markups determined by dealers.

Many financial A-listers have either written books about the financial crisis or are working on them. Among the most recent to announce: Timothy Geithner, who stepped down as Treasury Secretary in January. Following are some notable examples of those taking a crack at writing first drafts of financial crisis history.

If he supported size regulations on big banks, JPMorgan's CEO would help revamp his increasingly tarnished image and help put the entire financial industry on the path to redemption.

The Federal Reserve Board has released Citizens Community Bancorp (CZWI) in Eau Claire, Wis., from an enforcement action.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a bulletin on Thursday warning indirect auto lenders that they could be violating fair-lending laws if they do not stop auto dealers who often mark up the loans they issue.

The Federal Reserve Board has terminated enforcement actions against three banks: Bank of Bartlett, Bank of Little Rock, and Pembina County Bankshares.