Law and regulation

Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit must face a lawsuit filed by two trusts that hold and administer mortgages on behalf of investors who own more than $1 billion worth of securities collateralized by the loans.

Former CFP Board Chairman Alan Goldfarb was the first CFP holder ever to be publicly sanctioned for a compensation disclosure violation, the board has confirmed – despite its assertion that he was not treated differently than other CFP holders.

A lawsuit brought by husband-and-wife planners in Florida against the CFP Board has brought the federal court system into the debate over “fee-only” labeling and consequences – a topic that the industry has been struggling to define.

For almost nine years, the firm has been lending to companies with ratings in the B to BB+ range, below the investment-grade threshold, the employee claims.

The Department of Labor is pushing back its timeframe for releasing a highly anticipated proposal for expanding fiduciary responsibilities for advisors who work with retirement plans.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch will pay $2.8 million to settle claims that it took too long to compensate departing brokers.

The regulator levied fewer big-ticket fines in the first half of 2013, according to a report from Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.

Amid growing industry debate over compensation disclosure, the FPA has changed the compensation disclosure options on its website.

A year ago, when opposition from the asset-management industry killed her plan to make money-market mutual funds safer, sec Chairman Mary Schapiro looked to Timothy Geithner, then the Treasury Secretary, to tackle “one of the pieces of unfinished business from the financial crisis.” It remains unfinished.

Rex Staples, the director of investigations for the beleaguered CFP Board of Standards, is stepping down.

Bank of America is seeking approval of a $160 million settlement from a judge who thrice rejected requests by black financial advisers at its Merrill Lynch unit to sue as a group over alleged racial discrimination.

Regulatory reform is likely to continue on its current path if Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve Board's vice chairman, is tapped to lead the central bank. The future is decidedly murkier if Larry Summers wins the post.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's surprise criticism of President Obama's plan to unwind Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has upset the conventional wisdom surrounding housing finance reform.

Is a youthful indiscretion with a fake ID reportable on your U4?

If your partnership agreement includes a mandatory retirement age, now might be the time to reassess.

Now is the time to bone up on your firm's anti-money laundering policies and learn how to spot the funny money.

A year after a firm merger, one of the principals looks at some of the problems and some pleasant surprises.

As summer comes to a close, we're taking a look back at some of the hottest stories this season. Whether you were on vacation or busy working -- maybe you just finally have time to catch up on reading over the long weekend -- we've gathered the summer's top stories all in one place.

UBS will pay $4.58 million to settle an investigation by regulators into whether its sales assistants were licensed in states where they did business.

A heavyweight panel including former bank regulator Sheila Bair cautioned Wednesday that the Federal Reserve must take a clear and steady direction out of its "experimental" monetary policies so as not to further harm the economy.