Law and legal issues

Bank of America set aside $100 million in its reserves for representation and warranty claims ahead of a pending settlement to resolve legacy mortgage issues.

In an op-ed, acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika argued that allowing consumers to sue financial institutions in class actions would raise credit costs and harm small banks.

A bankruptcy judge who spent 107 pages excoriating Bank of America Corp. over its "heartless" foreclosure on a California couple is not happy that the homeowners want him to erase his words.

The bank plans to contact all customers who paid fees for rate lock extensions during a three-and-a-half-year period and to refund any who believe they should not have been charged.

The groups argue that the CFPB did not properly conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the rule banning mandatory arbitration agreements and that the final product will harm, not help, consumers.

Democrats have strived to paint recent scandals at Wells Fargo and Equifax as prime examples of why a regulatory rule banning mandatory arbitration agreements should be upheld, but Republicans are not wavering in their campaign to overturn it.

The hearings before the Senate Banking Committee have high stakes for both companies, as lawmakers are expected to ask the CEOs whether they should be fired.

In order to compensate victims of the breach, Equifax is offering free credit monitoring services that include a mandatory arbitration clause, a measure Democrats were highlighting to lobby support for the CFPB's rule banning such clauses.

In a deregulatory environment, a rule that better enables consumers to bring class actions could lead to an explosion of litigation, which will affect product availability and pricing.

The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Fla., and two homeless assistance agencies are the surprise beneficiaries of a successful lawsuit against a notorious South Florida foreclosure attorney, who was later disbarred.