Regulation

With the economy still on life support and inflation an increasing threat, the Federal Reserve will continue to act like a “sugar daddy” and leave interest rates untouched until 2011, predicts PIMCO Co-Chief Investment Officer and founder Bill Gross.

The average 2010 fund clawed its way back in 2009, with a 20% return, easing investor worry about these retirement funds and moving the push for regulation to the back burner.

The agency provided no further details on the action. The agenda for the meeting of the FDIC's board includes an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on "employee compensation."

WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd's decision not to seek reelection strengthens his ability to enact regulatory reform, but the final bill is also expected to be more moderate, observers said Wednesday.

He was previously a partner in the financial services regulatory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where is was also known for his expertise in corporate governance, enterprise risk management and regulatory compliance and ethics.

The American Bankers Association made a pitch Tuesday to the Senate Banking Committee on its wish list for regulatory reform legislation, highlighting its opposition to a separate consumer agency for banks, efforts to gut federal preemption of state standards and taxing large institutions in advance for resolution costs.

WASHINGTON — With rock-bottom interest rates expected to begin rising soon, regulators and industry representatives are increasingly concerned about institutions' ability to weather a boomerang effect on their funding costs.

Because the Internal Revenue Service has not yet determined the market rate of interest return for so-called “DB(k)” plans—hybrids of pensions and 401(k)s—many companies eligible to begin offering them as of Jan. 1 are first waiting on the information.

The tax preparation company agreed to pay as much as $20.2 million to customers that bought its Express IRAs.

William Dudley wasn't the first regulator to endorse the idea of allowing banks to convert debt into equity if they need capital in a pinch, but the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has gone further than any other policymaker in making the case that "contingent capital" is key to averting another banking crisis.