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.

Since the recession hit two years ago, 80% of mutual fund firms have laid off tens of thousands of people, as total assets under management dropped from $11.999 trillion at the end of 2007 to $10.688 trillion as of October. In line with this 11% decline in assets, fees have undoubtedly plummeted by at least $1 billion a year.

The House Ways and Means Committee has introduced a bill that would streamline and modernize the tax code for mutual funds and their shareholders. For the past 50 years, the code has been adjusted piecemeal, and an entire review of the rules hasn't occurred for more than 20 years.

Since the recession hit two years ago, 80% of mutual fund firms have laid off tens of thousands of people, as total assets under management dropped from $11.999 trillion at the end of 2007 to $10.688 trillion as of October. In line with this 11% decline in assets, fees have undoubtedly plummeted by at least $1 billion a year.

As regulators work to converge U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), several key differences remain, most notably the different measurement attributes of financial liabilities, the timing and approaches to projects and the difference between fair value and amortized costs.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved new rules to significantly enhance the level of information companies are required to provide shareholders in proxy statements, but many leaders worry that these changes will do little more than add to the expenses that shareholders pay.

Three mutual fund industry leaders, including Investment Company Institute President Paul Schott Stevens, will release new research showing how 401(k) participants are behaving and faring one year after the market calamity of 2008 and outline ways to improve the nation’s retirement system at the National Press Club in Washington on Friday, Jan. 8 at 10 a.m.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel in North Carolina has rejected claim of raiding and unfair competition by Wachovia Securities LLC against broker Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc., and ordered Wachovia to pay $1.11 million in attorneys’ fees.

Corporate greed, moral hazard, lax oversight and foolhardy underwriting all contributed to the crisis in finance. Another factor, less useful for sloganeers but no less insidious, was the simple mispricing of risk.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is adjusting fees for some transactions as part of its requirement to keep collections stable.

Regulators have agreed to delay plans to treat equity-indexed annuities like securities, but many bank-affiliated brokerages are already doing so.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted rules that substantially increase protections for investors who turn their assets over to investment advisers, which hopefully will prevent another massive, Madoff-like Ponzi scheme.

Industry groups across the independent advisory channel expressed approval over a proposed rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission that would exclude advisors whose only access to client funds is to deduct fees from surprise audits. The groups insist, however, that they are waiting to see the final rule – due out in several days at the earliest – before making any judgments.