Law and regulation

To prove and defend their capital adequacy, community banks must focus on linking the results of stress testing to the core principles that underlie Basel III's stand-alone ratios.

After a relative lull the past two years, the Senate Banking Committee may be poised to advance a corrections bill to the Dodd-Frank reform law next year, and begin work on other issues like mortgage finance reform.

Nancy Sheppard, who plans to retire next year as CEO of the Western Independent Bankers, wisely pushed the group out of lobbying and into executive training, bankers say.

Willing sellers have pretty much replaced failed banks among targets with less than $1 billion of assets. Volume has perked up in other size classes simultaneously.

In a court filing this week, the Department of Justice rejected a Texas bank's claim that the Dodd-Frank law, and the CFPB in particular, were unconstitutional and harmful to financial institutions.

A bill that would exempt homeowners from having to pay taxes on principal reductions and other forms of debt cancellation will expire at the end of the year if Congress doesn't pass an extension.

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau streamlines mortgage disclosure forms, banks worry that the proposed simplification may become a burden.

All mortgage lenders should voice their objection to the NMLS' efforts to include non-mortgage industries such as pawnbrokers, debt collectors and even used car financing companies in its registry.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York announced Tuesday that it would stop processing international wire transfers as a result of a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is "attempting an ambitious project required under Dodd-Frank to consolidate overlapping disclosures," writes American Banker's Joe Adler.

Citing several lawsuits as evidence, activists say the bank's "abusive" lending practices triggered waves of foreclosures in low-income neighborhoods.

Housing industry officials applauded the CFPB's bid to streamline mortgage disclosures, but they are now expressing concern about the more inclusive APR requirements and limits on changes in costs that can vary over time.

Assets held by money market funds, private equity firms and other entities that make up the so-called shadow banking system stood at $67 trillion worldwide at the end of last year, according to new report by the Financial Stability Board. Supporters credit shadow banks with providing valuable services; critics warn that their lack of oversight poses systemic risk. One certainty is that they're big, with half as many assets as conventional banks, by FSB's count. Here's a look at how it defines shadow banks.

Credit Suisse becomes the latest institution charged with fraud involving mortgage securities in an investigation that is expected to involve others.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s unlimited coverage of non-interest bearing checking accounts is coming to a close.

Providing a safe harbor for only some qualified mortgage loans will swing the stringent credit standard pendulum further in the wrong direction.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday warned policymakers not to delay taking steps to avert a fiscal shock that would cause the economy to fall back into recession.

The National Advertising Division, a 10-person shop that's based in New York, investigates allegations that companies are engaging in deceptive marketing, often after a competitor lodges a complaint. Just last week, the organization released its ruling in a big-money dispute between JPMorgan Chase and Capital One Financial.

Banks should seize the opportunity to shape the rule in a manner that helps policymakers achieve their AML goals without imposing needless cost and customer pain.

The Treasury Department will receive $62 million from its latest auction of stakes it owns in banks through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.