Legal issues and news

Even if Operation Choke Point officially ended, U.S. regulators have continued to apply the policy of threatening investigations and ruinous fines against banks that service "high-risk" customers in disfavored industries.

BofI Holding in San Diego is poised to end a tumultuous week, after a lawsuit accusing it of lax controls sent investors scurrying.

IDology, an Atlanta provider of fraud-prevention and identity verification, has made an equity investment in the mobile identity authentication provider Payfone.

To identify fintech startups deserving of special recognition this year as part of the FinTech Forward program, a team of American Banker editors, BAI staff and industry members debated the merits of self-nominees and companies we know.

Outside experts have been left wondering what kinds of controls firms that offer daily fantasy sports contests are putting in place to prevent them from becoming money laundering hubs — and how careful banks should be when doing business with them.

Swift CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt talks about how the global messaging network is looking to stay relevant to its bank members; the potential and limitations of blockchain technology; and his views on the startups looking to disrupt banking.

The long-delayed approval of the merger of M&T and Hudson City should have been a bright spot in postcrisis M&A, but a small footnote from the Fed quickly reminded bankers that dealmaking will remain a demanding process.

A survey due to be released Wednesday reveals a wish list for anti-money-laundering specialists to help ease their process of assessing customer risk.

The collaboration between financial institutions and technology firms runs deep, but banks' recent criticism of lax regulatory oversight for nonbanks reveals fissures.

The marketplace lender is paying $30 million in cash plus an undisclosed amount of stock. It plans to use BillGuard’s apps, which come with detailed information about their users’ financial habits, to attract new borrowers.

One of the top anti-money-laundering regulators warned credit unions Tuesday that many do not appear to be properly following reporting requirements.

The digital currency industry reacted warily to a model framework for regulating such firms released Tuesday by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, arguing the language is too vague and treats digital assets like normal money.

The American Bankers Association has planned a financial literacy campaign to help seniors and their caregivers guard against financial fraud.

The smartphone can add significant security to payments, but it is also a tool that fraudsters can exploit. Researchers and scammers have already found several unique attacks that rely on mobile devices.

K2 Intelligence, an adviser on compliance and cybersecurity, has hired a former FBI cryptocurrency expert and a former regulator who worked on New York's digital currency regulations.

A foreign bank that sued the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network won a preliminary injunction suspending an action that would have cut off the bank's access to dollar funding.

The contradictory nature of data privacy and anti-money-laundering rules in the U.S. and E.U. pose a big challenge for multinational banks. But the financial sector can help fix the problem by establishing industry standards that balance national security with individual rights.

The largest bank in Tanzania has sued the U.S. Treasury Department to halt a rule that designates the bank as a "primary money laundering concern," which cuts off its access to dollar funding and may prove to be a death sentence for the institution.

Before it dissolves in late September, a bipartisan House task force should take a broader look at de-risking, changing technologies, cybersecurity and the private sector's role in deterring terrorism financing.

In his first interview since taking over HSBC's U.S. bank late last year, CEO Patrick Burke contends that the U.S. bank could prove to be HSBC's hidden gem provided it focuses on multinational corporate clients and cooperates better with its global affiliates.