WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) – Legislation to force U.S.
banks to drastically raise their capital buffers – a proposal
that has been criticized as a veiled attempt to break up the
biggest banks – was presented in a slightly weakened form by two
senators on Wednesday.

The two, Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, and David Vitter,
a Louisiana Republican, want to ditch a global accord on capital
standards known as Basel III and put more straightforward caps
on how much banks can borrow.

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission said on Monday that it had fined Mark
Begelman, a former head of Office Depot, for insider
trading after he heard news of an imminent merger.

Begelman, who was president and chief operating officer of
the office supplies retailer in the early 1990s, agreed to pay
more than $30,000 to settle charges, the SEC said.

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) – A U.S. plan to force
foreign banks to hold far more capital could sow discord among
supervisors and lead to retaliation from abroad, European Union
financial services czar Michel Barnier said on Monday.

It was the second time in less than a week that EU
misgivings about Washington’s aggressive stance in applying
domestic rules on foreign banks became public.

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) – The United States and the
UK aim to include financial services in a proposed free-trade
agreement between America and the 27-nation European Union, the
British ambassador to the United States said on Thursday.

The accord would aim to smooth out regulatory differences
that have stunted U.S.-EU trade in areas such as agriculture,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals and autos. The EU is already the
largest U.S. trading partner.

WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) – A top U.S. bank regulator
said on Wednesday the country must do more to protect taxpayers
from having to spend billions on bank bailouts, one of a growing
chorus of critics of the current rules.

Tom Hoenig, vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp (FDIC), said in New York that the Volcker rule – which
would bar banks from betting their own money on financial
markets but has not yet been finalized by regulators – would not
go far enough.

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – Data vendor Bloomberg L.P.
filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the top U.S. derivatives
regulator to fight a new rule that would make the trading of
swaps more expensive and hurt its business.

Bloomberg is one of a dozen or so providers that plan to
launch platforms on which to trade swaps, as regulators globally
crack down on the $650 trillion market to prevent a repeat of
the 2008 financial crisis.

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – Republican Senator Richard
Shelby introduced legislation on Tuesday that would force
regulators to study the economic impact before finalizing new
rules requiring lenders to hold more equity.

It is unclear how much bipartisan support Shelby will be
able to muster for the legislation, which could slow the
adoption of Basel III bank capital rules.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mark Zandi, a well-known economist, is a front-runner to lead the housing regulator and oust Edward DeMarco, who critics say hasn’t done enough to aid homeowners, the Wall Street Journal reported.

President Barack Obama tried to replace DeMarco in 2011 as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but Senate Republicans blocked his nominee to succeed DeMarco.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry will meet senior Chinese officials in July as the world’s two largest economies continue discussions on currency rates and the North Korean nuclear threat.

The so-called U.S.-China strategic and economic dialogue, an annual high-level forum, will be held in the week of July 8-12 in Washington, the Treasury Department said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama stressed the need to revive the economy and reform immigration and fiscal policy during a meeting on Thursday with some of the world’s most powerful bankers.

The White House had set the agenda for the meeting, a source familiar with the situation said, and the ongoing reform of Wall Street – a hot issue for bank lobbyists – did not appear prominently on the list of topics.