On Feb. 14, Sen. Elizabeth Warren grilled bank regulators on their failure to take banks to trial.

Sen. Warren: Why Can Banks Commit Crimes But Get Away Without Admitting Guilt?

Back on Valentine’s Day, rookie U.S. Senator — and longtime consumer advocate — Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts showed little love for the nation’s bank regulators, asking if any of them — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — had actually taken a large financial institution to trial instead of settling. None of them could provide a quality answer at the time, but Warren has not let them off the hook. [More]

(stevendepolo)

Many Victims Of Shady Foreclosure Practices Will Only Get $300-$500 Under Government Plan

There’s no doubt that millions of homeowners were the victims of shady foreclosure practices at the country’s biggest banks when the recession hit. So many of those people were likely hoping for a positive resolution to their woes when the government said it was going to figure out how to compensate homeowners with its Independent Foreclosure Review, an investigation into banks’ mistakes in servicing mortgages. But after waiting years for an answer, about three million eligible borrowers will only be seeing checks for between $300 and $500. [More]

(Nick Bastian)

GAO Calls Out Bank Regulators For Mucking Up Foreclosure Reviews

Back in April 2011, in the wake of the robosigning scandal and in light of numerous instances of erroneous seizures, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve System ordered independent reviews of the foreclosure process at the country’s 14 largest mortgage servicers. Now, two years on, the Govt. Accountability Office is saying these regulators allowed the review process to become inconsistent and overly complex. [More]

Feds Probing Chase On Credit Card Collection Practices

Feds Probing Chase On Credit Card Collection Practices

Following the lead of whistleblowers, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has reportedly been investigating JPMorgan Chase over allegations that, over the course of at least two years, the bank used inaccurate records when suing thousands of delinquent credit card customers. [More]

WaMu Customers, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Is Your New Regulator

WaMu Customers, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Is Your New Regulator

As an aside, WaMu’s charter was under the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). Chase’s bank regulator is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Whether being a Chase customer was your choice or not, if you ever have a major complaint about Chase regarding what you feel is on the bank’s part malfeasance, you’ll want to send it to the OCC.

Two More Banks Fail, Including The Largest Arizona-Based Bank

Two More Banks Fail, Including The Largest Arizona-Based Bank

Yesterday the FDIC shuttered the 28 branches of the First National Bank of Nevada and the First Heritage Bank. Federal regulators will perform a nifty little magic trick over the weekend, and on Monday, the branches will reopen as Mutual of Omaha Bank. Aren’t bank failures fun?!

New Treasury Department Plan: "Rehashed Industry Wish-List"

New Treasury Department Plan: "Rehashed Industry Wish-List"

PREVIOUSLY: Treasury Secretary Calls For Supercharged Fed, Streamlined Regulatory System

Treasury Secretary Calls For Supercharged Fed, Streamlined Regulatory System

Treasury Secretary Calls For Supercharged Fed, Streamlined Regulatory System

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson wants to consolidate the nation’s financial regulators into a tripartite gang that can save the economy from distress and doom. The plan to give the Federal Reserve broad new regulatory powers and streamline the regulatory community has been in the works since last March, before the start of the subprime meltdown. Paulson is worried that the U.S. markets are no longer competitive with maturing world markets, some of which aren’t hampered by nuisances like regulation. After the jump we’ll explain the consumer impact of the plan and introduce you to your three new regulators.

NY Governor On The Mortgage Meltdown: "The Bush Administration Will Not Be Judged Favorably"

NY Governor On The Mortgage Meltdown: "The Bush Administration Will Not Be Judged Favorably"

What did the Bush administration do in response? Did it reverse course and decide to take action to halt this burgeoning scourge? As Americans are now painfully aware, with hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure and our markets reeling, the answer is a resounding no.

Website Offers 411 For Financial Questions

In July, federal regulators launched a new website, HelpWithMyBank.gov, to answer your basic bank-related questions, as well as to provide an easy way to lodge complaints about any of the 1,800 offending financial institutions that fall under its purview. (Yes, that includes Chase and BofA.)