Law and regulation

As directors and officers of failed banks brace for FDIC lawsuits, an intense legal battle is developing over accessing files at their former institutions.

From a psychic who couldn’t see the future to the car czar caught up in a pay-to-play hustle, this was the year in deception.

For the past two years, the FDIC has maintained a consistent crisis-response posture. But it will undoubtedly need to pivot in a new direction in 2011.

There are two proposed pieces of legislation sitting in Congress that would seem to be no-brainers for helping people save for retirement and helping advisors help their clients.

The operations chief for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities and his personal assistant are petitioning a New York court to be released from jail.

Policymakers' focus on capital may be creating a false sense of security, and it may be overshadowing other, equally important issues that are central to preventing the next crisis.

The independent securities regulator has put to rest an eight-year-old dispute, finding no violations in Citigroup’s advisor recruitment from Oppenheimer.

The panel’s decision also sent a signal to broker-dealers that financial advisors should perform much more thorough due diligence on the soundness of companies issuing certain securities before allowing investors to participate in risky investments.

The administration is expected to unveil this month a reform package that charts a course for the housing finance system. But it remains unclear how detailed the administration plans to be.

FINRA effectively backed up claims that Securities America breached its fiduciary duty and violated industry rules.

A FINRA arbitration panel has ordered UBS to cough up $2.8 million to settle a dispute with a former in-house recruiter.

Only half as many muni advisory firms are registered with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board compared to those registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, even though advisory firms are now required to sign up with both regulators under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has extended by four months the date by which advisors must deliver information about their personnel to their clients to help them make the necessary operational adjustments.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority expelled APS Financial Corp., and barred its former president as well as its former broker from the industry. The move comes in response to an alleged scheme involving an elderly investor and markups on CMOs as well as other types of securities.

While 2010 was an all-out scramble by Democratic leaders to harness outrage over the financial crisis to push reg reform over the finish line, the legislative outlook for next year ...

Retirement plan providers will be able to sue more people and have a legal leg to stand on.

Brokers must keep addresses and other pertinent information updated with the CRD. Doing otherwise can lead to trouble.

The number of delinquent mortgages rose while foreclosures also jumped in the third quarter, according to a report released Wednesday by federal regulators.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council was created to identify systemic risks and act to disarm them. But the first five months of the council's existence have been underwhelming.

2011 will be critical as regulators across the globe start the difficult task of implementing the new Basel III rules even while they tackle issues left unfinished by the agreement.