Compliance & Regulation

WASHINGTON–The heads of the U.S. government’s two financial-market watchdogs did not learn of trades that led to sharp losses at JPMorgan Chase until they heard media reports about it, the agency chiefs told Congress on Tuesday.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Tuesday fined Citigroup Global Markets Inc. $3.5 million in a settlement related to charges of nonconforming residential mortgage-backed securities violations that Citi neither admitted to nor denied.

A federal judge this week dismissed portions of the Securities and Exchange Commission's case against two former executives of IndyMac Bank, the now-defunct alt-A giant that was initially started by Countrywide Financial Corp.

The Home Affordable Refinancing Program is not giving perks to the right borrower.

Lenders that order appraisals to support mortgage loans may be tempted, as a cost control measure or otherwise, to limit the number of approaches to value that an appraiser uses in performing the appraisal. But those lenders, and their AMCs, should proceed with caution. The uniform appraisal standards, known as USPAP, recognize three main approaches to value: the sales-comparison approach, the cost approach, and the income approach.

James Freis was dismissed from his position as director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network last week after refusing to step down, a person familiar with the situation confirmed Monday.

Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, is not shy about the fact he's a former banker. That's why it's all the more surprising that he's one of the leading advocates for dramatically reducing the size of the largest banks—arguing that failing to do so will jeopardize the health and stability of the financial system.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, by its mere name proclaims its sole purpose is to protect the consumer’s interest in financial matters. But what happens when the rules and regulations designed to benefit the borrower actually harm the borrower?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and other banks for a cumulative $92 million in damages on mortgage-backed securities, alleging that shoddy appraisals and other underwriting defects tainted their sale.

Bank servicers are doing what they can to avoid depressing home prices, by focusing on reducing foreclosures rather than flooding the market with their backlog of properties.