Nov 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. consumer finance watchdog plans
to relax rules requiring firms that provide foreign money
transfers to disclose more about fees and exchange rates after
industry groups said the requirements could lead some banks to
halt the service.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it will issue
a proposal next month to ease some of the fee and tax disclosure
requirements and to ensure that banks are not liable when a
sender provides the wrong account number for a money transfer.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Regulators have begun investigating 19 companies whose advertisements for mortgage products may mislead consumers, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said on Monday.

Regulators also have sent letters to an additional 32 mortgage lenders, brokers, home builders and other companies warning that their ads may violate federal prohibitions against misleading mortgage-related claims.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve released on Thursday the economic scenarios, including a hypothetical sharp slowdown in China, that the biggest banks will use in the next round of stress tests to determine how they would withstand a financial shock.

Regular stress tests are part of a more rigorous regime required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law. They are designed to that ensure banks have enough capital cushions and are not being overly aggressive in returning cash to shareholders.

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service
reported a record annual loss on Thursday and warned that,
without congressional action, it could face a cash shortfall
next fall.

The mail service said it lost $15.9 billion in the fiscal
year that ended on Sept. 30. That is more than triple its $5.1
billion loss last year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Postal Service posted a record net loss of $15.9 billion in fiscal 2012, much of it due to massive payments the mail agency could not make but still must account for in financial statements.

That is more than triple its $5.1 billion loss last year.

The USPS, which relies on the sale of stamps and other products rather than taxpayer dollars, has been grappling for years with high costs and tumbling mail volumes as consumers communicate more online.

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) – U.S. bank regulators sought
to reassure lawmakers on Wednesday that they will incorporate
community banks’ concerns as regulators finish up new rules
requiring financial firms to hold more capital.

Officials from the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
told a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing that they are
considering industry comments on rules proposed to implement an
international capital agreement.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The financial risk council rolled out a framework of new rules for the $2.5 trillion money market fund industry on Tuesday, saying current regulations are not enough to prevent runs in a time of crisis.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council’s proposal largely mirrors a plan championed this summer by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, but it failed to garner enough support from three of her colleagues.

WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. financial risk
council rolled out a framework of new rules for the $2.5
trillion money market fund industry on Tuesday, saying current
regulations are not enough to prevent runs in a time of crisis.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council’s proposal largely
mirrors a plan championed this summer by Securities and Exchange
Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, but it failed to garner
enough support from three of her colleagues.

WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator-elect Elizabeth
Warren would be a welcome addition to the Senate Banking
Committee, its chairman Tim Johnson said on Tuesday in his first
public statement about his preferences since Warren was elected.

Warren, a Democrat who beat Massachusetts Republican
incumbent Senator Scott Brown in last week’s election, has been
a fierce critic of Wall Street’s excesses and an advocate for
consumers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. banking regulators do not expect proposed rules requiring financial institutions to hold more capital to take effect on January 1, as regulators work through a flood of industry comments on the proposals.

Regulators have received more than 2,000 comment letters since the rules were proposed in June to implement the international agreement on bank capital known as Basel III.