Practice

The FDIC will soon post bi-weekly records of closed-door meetings it holds with bankers and other stakeholders regarding regulatory reform, the agency said Thursday.

Nearly 1,200 banks have been hit with an enforcement action made public by federal regulators since the start of 2008, and that number is expected to climb at an accelerated rate.

WASHINGTON — Though the Dodd-Frank regulatory reform law designed separate rules for large and small institutions, covering everything from capital to stress tests to consumer protection, a consensus is growing that the higher standards for bigger institutions will eventually apply to everyone else.

Merrill Lynch agreed Wednesday to pay $728,260 in civil penalties for allowing unregistered client associates to sell securities in states where they were not permitted to do business, said New Jersey’s Attorney General Paula Dow. Client associates serve as sales assistant to one or more financial advisors.

Merrill Lynch is set to pay New Jersey $728,260 in civil penalties and change its business practices to be in compliance with state law.

The head of the BlackRock product team for exchange-traded funds is urging the SEC and CFTC to establish circuit breakers across all exchanges that were uniform for both stocks and ETFs.

Three-quarters oppose cutting Social Security to reduce the deficit as the government program celebrates its 75th anniversary.

The proposal, which would only apply to banks supervised by the agency, said institutions should give customers the chance to opt out of overdraft programs for their checking accounts and any automated clearing house transfers, as well as monitor overdraft usage to avoid unfair consumer fees.

Three out of every four adults age 18 or older are factoring in Social Security income when planning ahead for their retirement, according to a survey released Wednesday by AARP. Even among younger people aged 18 to 29, 62% expect to rely on Social Security.

The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund reported on Wednesday that its donors made more than 152,000 grants totaling $531 million during the first six months of 2010, the strongest first half for outgoing grants in the Gift Fund’s 19-year history.