Law and regulation

Under pressure from consumer groups and regulators, Urban Trust Bank (UTB) of Lake Mary, Fla., has agreed to stop charging overdraft fees on its prepaid cards.

Net interest margins continued to come under pressure in the fourth quarter. Net interest income, aided by loan growth, held up better.

A unit of Palmetto Bancshares in Greenville, S.C., has shed an enforcement order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Visa Inc. contravened Australia's consumer protection laws by preventing buyers from using a currency of their choice when shopping, the country's competition regulator said.

Visa Inc. says its EMV chip technology will be available to create a common code for debit transactions to allow merchants to choose networks as mandated by federal law — a move that could address a key obstacle in the U.S.

It's shopping season in the payments industry. Just last month, Ingenico, ACI Worldwide and Fidelity National Information Services announced separate acquisitions. Many other companies have bought their peers in recent months.

Sen. Jerry Moran has reintroduced a bill to overhaul the structure of the CFPB in the wake of a controversial court ruling last month.

Sen. Michael Crapo, the new ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, discussed his priorities for the year in a sit-down interview with American Banker. During the interview, he also pushed for structural changes at the CFPB, and suggested they are needed at the OCC too.

Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to pay roughly $790 million to settle charges by regulators it manipulated a benchmark used to determine the rate at which banks loan to one another.

After the undermining of President Obama's recess appointment of Richard Cordray as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's director and talk swirling that Democrats may seek to cut a deal with Republicans, many of whom seek to scale back the agency, Sen. Elizabeth Warren may be the one who can save the CFPB.

Safety and soundness in banking will be found more in changes in oversight than regulation.

Citizens Community Bancorp (CZWI) in Eau Claire, Wisc., has shed its enforcement order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The inter-agency council created under Dodd-Frank tries to succeed where the SEC could not, hinting at its potential role longer term.

It's time to roll back the $250,000 coverage limit on FDIC deposit insurance, Boston University finance lecturer Mark Williams says.

Even as more states legalize marijuana, banks are abstaining from dealing with cannabis dealers. So call bankers stodgy. Call them unhip. Just don't call them noncompliant with industry regulations and federal drug laws.

The Clearing House Association has hired Gregg Rozansky as managing director and senior associate general counsel.

A U.S. district court closed a Houston-based debt collection operation that allegedly illegally used insults, lies and false threats to collect on payday loans, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Maxine Waters, are asking regulators for more detail on a recent settlement with mortgage servicers that halted an independent foreclosure review started last spring.

White's determination to succeed and legal competence will make her the most formidable chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission yet.

Sens. Johanns, Alexander and Cornyn are backing a bill that would stop CFPB funding for carrying out any actions that require a confirmed bureau director, in the wake of a controversial court ruling.