Regulation

Lawmakers are stepping up efforts to deter frivolous patent lawsuits against banks and a host of other companies.

The question triggers a whole array of responses. But after a five-year onslaught of new rules and enforcement, some see a brighter regulatory future for banks.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a staff report Friday to Congress on its disclosure rules for U.S. public companies, as part of the SEC’s efforts to modernize the disclosure requirements and reduce compliance costs for emerging growth companies.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. agreed to pay about $54.3 million to U.S. regulators and the Justice Department to resolve allegations it bribed officials in Ukraine to win tax refunds.

In her final column for American Banker, Editor-at-Large Barbara Rehm says there is no denying the system is safer than it was in 2007, and while further changes may be needed, it makes sense to "take a breather."

Deutsche Bank AG will pay $1.9 billion to settle claims that it didn’t provide adequate disclosure about mortgage-backed securities sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Lawmakers this week called on FINRA to explain its policies for expunging investor complaints about brokers from the public record, suggesting that the industry regulator should revisit the extent to which information is removed from the BrokerCheck database.

In the space of just a few hours, regulators issued -- and banks condemned -- guidance meant to clarify the impact of the Volcker rule on small institutions.

During his final press conference as chairman, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke cited progress made over the past twelve months, but left the door open to further changes.

The SEC said Tuesday that it has "increased its attention to securities violations by municipalities and other participants in the market for securities of cities and other governmental issuers," but did not give any statistics.