Law and regulation

James Hertz, a former vice president and marketer in JPMorgan’s municipal derivatives group, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three criminal counts for engaging in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies connected with guaranteed investment contracts and other municipal finance agreements, the Justice Department announced.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s insider trading sweep leaped across the Atlantic Ocean, with a former tax partner at Deloitte LLP charged with leaking confidential information on potential mergers to family members in London.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has set the timetable and ground rules for when and how some mid-sized investment advisors can deregister with the federal regulatory agency and be overseen by state regulators.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, is gearing up to play a leading role on the House Financial Services Committee next year — to ensure that regulators do not overstep their bounds.

Sponsors would have to disclose a fund’s asset allocation and how that changes over time.

Four years after it began charging risk-based premiums, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is set to revamp them again for the largest institutions.

Investigation might redefine insider trading.

In an era of low interest rates, weak loan demand and unprecedented efforts by the Federal Reserve Board to pump liquidity into the economy, the demand for Federal Home Loan Bank advances has plummeted to a 10-year low, raising questions about the system's future as the government weighs a redesign of the housing finance sector.

Frank Keating pledged Tuesday to take a bipartisan approach as the next head of the American Bankers Association, dismissed concerns about a past scandal from his former career as Oklahoma governor as "unfair" and touted his experience with issues relevant to mortgage securitization and the Bank Secrecy Act.

A pullback in reserves helped drive another solid profit for banks and thrifts last quarter, but the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s assessment of the industry's health Tuesday was tempered by mortgage fallout concerns.

The inclusion of one word in the Dodd-Frank law is raising concerns among bankers that it will lead to a ban on certain financial products or services.

The FDIC Chairman discussed her priorities for the rest of her term, and the many bankers who think she is too focused on consumer protection will be surprised to hear her list.

A state regulator fined a Bank of America investment unit for allowing its advisors to mislead clients about bonds related to government sponsored enterprises.

Some employers are not depositing workers’ retirement or health plan contributions.

Fund executives also don’t like the proposed new name “marketing and service fees.”

John Bowman, the acting director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, lashed out Wednesday at the Dodd-Frank Act, arguing it made his agency the scapegoat for the financial crisis and ...

Analysts say growth will stall or slow if upper income households see a tax increase.

The ­Securities and Exchange Commission would violate the Tower Amendment and the principles of federalism if it applies its proposed rules on asset-backed securities to municipal bonds, 14 market groups warned this week.

Top executives want to reassure lawmakers that foreclosure alternatives are paramount.

But IRS Commissioner says the investigation isn’t over and the closed cases so far have averaged more than $200,000 in tax collections per case.