Banks and CUs

The Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued final supervisory guidance on May 14 regarding stress-testing practices at banking organizations with total consolidated

Most of our readers have heard about the $2 billion loss JPMorgan Chase inflicted on itself by bungling complex financial instruments it’s been lobbying Washington not to regulate. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Volcker’s “infantile” (acc

Regulators' bank supervision and examination process came in for some additional criticism in a white paper, “Value-Added Bank Supervision: A Framework for Safely Fostering Economic Growth,” released by the American Bankers Association on Apri

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) sees a message for Congress in the recent collapse of a California credit union.

ICBA has been waging a vigorous campaign opposing legislation (S. 2231) that would allow the NCUA to incre

While the heads of the federal financial regulatory agencies were making nice with community bankers at the ICBA’s recent annual conference in Nashville (see “Top Regulators Address Community Bankers”), a House Financial Services subcommitte

Credit unions (CUs) and community banks are quite capable of joining forces to advance their mutual interests, as in their failed efforts to kill the Durbin Amendment regulating debit card interchange fees. But they seem more comfortable as advers

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 crackdown.

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 process.

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 Acting

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 aw

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 banks.

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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” he

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 F

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 r

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 pat

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 total

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