Legal issues and news

Investors Bancorp in Short Hills, N.J., has joined the ranks of banks flagged by regulators for Bank Secrecy Act issues.

The federal government recently began to discourage companies from using SMS-based authentication in their two-factor authentication schemes. So do banks need to completely eliminate authentication via text message? Not entirely.

WASHINGTON — The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 has not had a negative impact on community banks, contrary to assertions by Republicans and many bankers, according to a group of White House economists.

WASHINGTON — The biggest banks are supporting a bill that would ensure that all U.S. companies submit beneficial ownership information to authorities, arguing it would help combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

With supervisory pressures continuing to mount, a piecemeal approach to handling banks’ regulatory demands is costly and ineffective.

In the wake of the Bitfinex heist, protecting consumers must again be at the forefront of the digital currency community.

Elliptic, a startup that monitors the bitcoin network for suspicious patterns, has introduced anti-money-laundering data into its service through a partnership with LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

In a political season teeming with tension around income inequality, racial economic disparities and animus toward the banking industry, reforming the Community Reinvestment Act seems like it should be a cornerstone of the debate. Yet the law has been almost entirely absent from the discussion. Here's why.

Four years after the first states legalized marijuana, most bankers still want nothing to do with it.

Directors and senior executives have a duty to inculcate risk culture into banks so that everyone works as a team to contain cyber and other risks, including the human vulnerabilities within.

As banks pull out of developing countries, we must seek a healthier balance between preventing money laundering and maintaining banking systems of entire regions.

Using methods akin to fighting external hacking can also address risks of employees committing legal or ethical lapses.

Millennium Bank is said to have been the target of an enforcement action related to its work with the pot industry. The episode shows why many banks remain reluctant to serve the fast-growing cannabis industry.

Nearly half of U.S. consumers say they have been hit by credit card fraud within the last five years, and those breaches are becoming more commonplace, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Offering a new product or considering a merger may boost returns, but the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency says changes in strategy can be risky.

A centralized platform that validates loan and borrower data and tracks ownership of marketplace loans could prevent fraudulent activities and help investors regain confidence.

The scheme is used by borrowers who don't have enough income to qualify for a regular mortgage, so they apply for a higher-rate non-owner-occupied loan.

After the departure of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's director last month, the future of the Treasury Department unit remains the subject of fierce speculation within the financial services industry.

WASHINGTON — Marijuana businesses and banks looking to open their doors to the potentially lucrative clients suffered a blow Wednesday after House Republicans blocked an amendment that would have prevented federal regulators from pursuing enforcement actions against banks dealing with the businesses in states with legalized pot.

WASHINGTON — Banks in states with legal marijuana businesses may warm up to them as customers if an amendment to a Senate appropriations bill becomes law.