Law and regulation

Despite a lackluster track record in 2012, the two SuperPACs formed by bankers are vowing to increase their influence before the next election hits.

Happy third anniversary, Brian Moynihan. Investors and others are complimenting your work streamlining the troubled Bank of America — and debating whether a new CEO is needed to kick-start growth.

Sound Community Bancorp in Seattle has ditched its federal thrift charter. The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions approved an application last week from Sound Community Bank for a state commercial bank charter, which went into effect immediately.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Carol Galante as head of the Federal Housing Administration, the agency she has spent more than a year running as acting FHA commissioner.

As 2012 progressed, one thing became strikingly clear: the card networks do not want to be left behind as new digital payment methods threaten plastic.

Mid Penn Bancorp (MPB) in Millersburg, Pa., has repaid the $10 million it owes the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized its first rule and took its first enforcement actions this year, but its most challenging work is still to come.

From exposes of questionable practices at megabanks to incursions onto bank turf by nontraditional players, these are American Banker's most popular stories of 2012.

An executive from a Missouri bank has been elected as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.

Covenant Bank in Chicago could fail if it does not raise fresh capital soon.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday slightly raised the asset threshold for banks that are required to collect certain mortgage disclosure data, increasing it by $1 million to $42 million.

Small banks continue to pull in significant revenue from interchange fees on debit cards despite fears a new rule directed at larger institutions could have hurt them too, according to a report issued this week by the Federal Trade Commission.

"Deposit fee" is one of the more popular terms being used in new naming conventions, while some banks are scrapping their fees altogether.

A House panel ended a probe of alleged preferential lending by Countrywide Financial to lawmakers and aides without taking action, saying the "serious matters" submitted for review fall outside its jurisdiction.

The Franklin County (Wash.) Clerk's Office has surpassed $1 million in collections for one year for the first time, a decade after it decided to chase convicted criminals for fines and court costs.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has named Gateway Bank CEO Jeffrey Cheung to a minority advisory committee, and he spilled the beans a little early

Successful banks are, among other things, focusing on education and employee training courses, establishing a formal enterprise risk management department and tying compensation to clearly defined best practices.

California, by holding out for a $12 billion side deal with Chase, Wells and B of A, secured a far larger share of the settlement than fairness would seem to dictate.

U.S. regulators are facing a series of difficult choices as they weigh how to finalize Basel III capital and liquidity rules next year, including how closely they adhere to an international agreement or whether they make changes for smaller institutions.

The FTC released a report that said small banks continue to pull in significant revenue from interchange fees on debit cards despite fears that the Durbin amendment would hurt them as much as larger institutions.