Legal issues and news

Legislation with bipartisan support would raise the threshold for reporting suspicious activity, a goal banks have long sought.

USAA's lawsuit accusing Wells of infringing on its remote-deposit patents is new territory: bank-on-bank fights over intellectual property.

When asked if other banks were being sued, USAA said the lawsuit names only Wells Fargo because the bank is one of the biggest adopters of remote mobile deposit capture and has failed to license the technology.

Financial institutions can improve monitoring of suspicious activity and potentially risky customers using algorithms, but they need to treat this new technology with caution.

Institutions that have been opening consumer accounts without consent need to prepare for the fallout, even if the OCC has said it won't name names.

The agency found no “systemic issues” in its review of other banks’ sales practices; some churches say the lenders are needed, others see the devil.

Only the collective efforts of cardholders, issuers, merchants and acquirers will significantly impact payment fraud, writes Stephanie Ericksen, vice president of identity and risk products for Visa.

That’s the question executives of publicly traded banks are asking themselves as they try to make sense of new — and somewhat vague — guidance from the SEC on procedures for disclosing data breaches.

Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney wrote in a two-paragraph filing that the Mount Laurel, N.J., company did not violate the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

Agency says it wants “smaller memberships to ensure streamlined discussions;” the bank hired a U.K. firm to help it better defend against cyberattacks.

There is a growing fraud problem encompassing much more than the direct value of lost merchandise. There is also manual order review, opportunity costs from false positives and the massive overhead of implementing fraud-fighting best practices, writes Ryan Breslow, CEO of Bolt.

The agency has no plans to release general findings from an extensive review of sales practices at large and midsized banks. That's troublesome, and will only fuel the perception that it is too cozy with the institutions it regulates.

The OCC finds widespread problems in bank retail sales practices; Ripple and Swift competition for payments pits technology against convention.

An inquiry into the sales practices of more than 40 banks launched in the wake of the Wells scandal found several systemic issues and hundreds of problems at individual institutions. The OCC completed the review in December but is not making the results public.

Bankers hope to claw back even more of the agency's rule rather than merely defend their partial victory in the judge's original split decision.

Financial institutions can improve monitoring of suspicious activity and potentially risky customers using algorithms, but they need to treat this new technology with caution.

UniCredit and Société Générale are discussing a merger; Revolut also plans to launch its mobile service in the U.S. this summer.

No surprises expected from the annual Fed reviews; Elad Roisman is seen as the pick to replace Michael Piwowar on the panel.

Add S&T Bancorp to the list of lenders that appear to have exposure to a Pennsylvania fuel supplier dealing with alleged employee fraud.

The banker made $140,000 in illegal trading profits; the German bank faces Fed stress test and “living will” examination soon.