Banks and CUs

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez used a recent speech at a Community Reinvestment Act and Fair Lending conference in Baltimore to update the banking industry on the Justice Department’s fair lending enforcement...

A second bill to ease the burdens of community banks is also pending in the House. Unlike the Communities First Act, this legislation has significant bipartisan support and is limited to a single purpose — reform of the examination...

FDIC-insured banks earned $35.3 billion in profits in the third quarter of 2011, up $11.5 billion from year-ago earnings.

“We continue to see income growth that reflects improving asset quality and lower loss provisions,” FDIC...

Community bankers are against the financial transaction tax (FTT) proposed by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). That was the message the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) delivered recently to both houses of Congress.

DeFazio’s...

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is concerned about the possible aftermath of his Durbin Amendment, which forced a deep cut in debit card interchange fees. He’s not concerned about the banks that suffered a decline in fee income as a result of...

It’s hard to estimate how much of a black eye Bank of America gave itself when it imposed its now-infamous $5 per month debit card fee. (Several other big banks imposed similar fees, but in limited ways that were easier for management to back...

In its latest report to Congress, SIGTARP (the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program) recommended that Treasury, in consultation with the banking regulators, develop a clear TARP exit path for community...

Regulatory and paperwork requirements, both new and old, continue to disproportionately burden community banks, according to Marty Reinhart, President of Heritage Bank, Spencer, Wisconsin. Reinhart testified at an October 31 “field hearing”...

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a new booklet entitled “Electronic Fund Transfer Act — Regulation E” in the Comptroller’s Handbook. The booklet updates examination procedures and incorporates recent changes the...

Community banks’ payments strategies are challenged by increased fraud and compliance costs, according to Independent Community Bankers of America’s (ICBA’s) latest payments survey. The biennial survey revealed that more than 25 percent of...

The Justice Department announced on September 30 that C&F Mortgage Corporation of Midlothian, Va., will revise its pricing policies, conduct employee training and pay $140,000 as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it engaged in a...

The Basel Committee on Bank Supervision has agreed to finalize the assessment methodology for global systemically important banks (G-SIBs). The Committee announced September 28 that it will stick with a proposed capital surcharge that ranges from...

Another 141 community banks received more than $1.6 billion as part of the seventh and final wave of funding provided through the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF), the Treasury Department announced on September 28.

That brings the...

Financial regulators should impose a moratorium on all acquisitions and mergers involving financial institutions with over $100 billion in assets, Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) Senior Vice President and Senior Regulatory Counsel...

An additional 61 community banks received a total of $608 million as part of the next wave of funding provided through the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF), the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced September 14.

The addition of...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ruled that Bank of America Corp. (BofA) violated the whistleblower protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by improperly firing an employee.

Sarbanes-Oxley, enacted in...

The Treasury Department, last week, bragged that 50 additional community banks received a total of $767 million as part of the latest wave of funding provided through the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF). The SBLF, which was established as part...

“Harmful and Inappropriate.” Those are the words the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) chose to characterize fair lending enforcement actions that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is now conducting.

In a letter to...

For the eighth consecutive calendar quarter, the banking industry’s profits have shown a year-over-year increase. Also for the eighth consecutive quarter, the improvement was the result of lower provisions for loan losses. That pattern can’t...

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and Wells Fargo Bank announced on August 17 that they have agreed to settle charges that certain adjustable-rate mortgage loans by Wachovia and Golden West Financial involved deceptive marketing of...