Legal issues and news

The Federal Reserve told a judge not to scrap Libor as requested by consumers in a lawsuit because it would pose a risk to financial stability and undermine years of global planning for a transition to a new benchmark for borrowing rates.

The card network is bringing Verizon into its innovation lab to turn more phones into payment acceptance devices and use the growing number of consumer gadgets and digital assistants to better verify consumer identities.

Online attacks on travel and other nonfinancial industries grew at a much faster rate in the second quarter than those on financial services companies. Yet hackers pose considerable risk to banks and credit unions, especially in payments.

Moore Capital Holdings alleges that TD showed a “total and systemic failure” to respond to a cyber scam that cost the company more than $275,000.

Banks are traditionally the target of anti-money-laundering regulations and law enforcement’s efforts to crack down on illicit finance. As the cryptocurrency sector grows, policymakers may subject it to customer identification requirements and other measures, analysts say.

The San Francisco data aggregator has committed to minimizing how much data it extracts from bank accounts.

Companies like Arkose Labs say they're so confident in their ability to deter the attacks — automated attempts to break into online banking sites using stolen usernames and passwords — that they can offer banks a warranty.

Criminals' efforts to steal identities and take over accounts have become increasingly sophisticated. Banks must upgrade their mitigation processes, which can be held back by antiquated systems and organizational silos.

The bureau said two rules related to communications with debtors will go into effect as originally planned on Nov. 30. The agency had previously proposed an extension to consider consumer advocates' concerns about the regulations.

A three-judge panel determined that a lower-court ruling against two law firms specializing in mortgage repair had used the wrong measure to calculate restitution.

A U.S. probe into Tether is homing in on whether executives behind the digital token committed bank fraud, a potential criminal case that would have broad implications for the cryptocurrency market.

Tech companies that help banks detect money laundering have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in recent months because of advances in their products. Observers suggest the vendors will have to diversify their offerings to survive in a crowded field.

Congress had been close to passing legislation to help banks serve cannabis firms. Now Democratic leaders have all but abandoned the effort, prioritizing a riskier proposal to decriminalize the drug.

The agreement will likely end a three-year-old dispute over allegations that the company misled borrowers by promising no hidden fees on its consumer loans.

Stephen Calk, the former CEO of Federal Savings Bank, wanted to be former President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary, defense secretary or a top ambassador and approved loans to Trump ally Paul Manafort with that goal in mind, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have rested their case against onetime bank CEO Stephen Calk, who allegedly approved millions of dollars in loans in exchange for a potential job in the Trump administration. Federal Savings Bank employees have testified against Calk, whose lawyers have sought to shift blame to underlings

The company angered hundreds of customers when its software flagged their accounts as suspicious and suddenly cut them off, according to a ProPublica report. The episode illustrates the challenge shared by fintechs and banks of rooting out scammers without being overzealous.

Fraudsters use different tactics based on their intended victims, and banks like Republic Bancorp and Wells Fargo are targeting the kinds of notices they send — and which channels they direct them to — in response.

Stephen Calk, a Chicago banker, pushed through $16 million in sketchy loans to Donald Trump's onetime campaign manager because he "wanted a powerful government title," Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Rothman said in her opening statement in Calk's criminal bribery trial.