All Financial Services Regulatory News

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco announced December 31, 2009, that the 11th District Monthly Weighted Average Cost of Funds Index ("COFI") for November 2009 is 2.094%.

The COFI is computed from the actual interest expense reported for a given month by the Arizona, California, and Nevada savings institutions members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco that satisfy the Bank's criteria for inclusion in the COFI ("COFI Reporting Members").

Changes in interest rates on adjustable rate mortgage loans offered by many financial institutions are tied to changes in the COFI.

Payday lenders didn't cause the economic crisis, but consumer advocates hoped their sky-high interest rates on loans would be reined in as part of a sweeping regulatory overhaul to prevent a repeat of the financial fiasco.

However, key senators feverishly working to craft a bipartisan bill want to make payday lenders -- companies that offer short-term loans to tide people over until their next paycheck -- largely exempt from oversight by a new consumer financial protection agency.

Consumer advocates said that exemption would keep payday lenders in California and 34 other states mostly under state controls, which have allowed the lenders to prey on low-income people with loan fees that translate to interest rates of as much as 460% a year.

The Treasury Department sank billions into auto finance giant GMAC Inc. without an exit strategy or proof the company was viable, a decision that could cost taxpayers $6.3 billion, according to a report to be released Thursday.

The government said the $17.2-billion bailout was necessary to save automakers General Motors and Chrysler.

GMAC provides crucial financing to auto dealers, who borrow to finance their fleets until the cars can be sold to consumers.

Welcome to Hollywood's newest version of risky business: movie derivatives.

Two trading firms, one of them an established Wall Street player and the other a Midwest upstart, are each about to premiere a sophisticated new financial tool: a box-office futures exchange that would allow Hollywood studios and others to hedge against the box-office performance of movies, similar to the way farmers swap corn or wheat futures to protect themselves from crop failures.

The Cantor Exchange, formed by New York firm Cantor Fitzgerald and set to launch in April, last week demonstrated its system to 90 Hollywood executives in a packed Century City hotel conference room.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the National Bank of Abu Dhabi's (NBAD) strong rating, basing its decision on robust management and the Bank's performance during the global financial crisis.

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), The Number One Bank in UAE, was incorporated in 1968 and is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), under stock code (NBAD).

NBAD has a network of more than 100 branches in the UAE in addition to cash offices that are spread out in remote locations to provide banking services to customers all over the UAE.

The federal government has spent the past half year seeking to roll back its emergency efforts at propping up the financial markets -- with the notable exception of its involvement in mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

As recently as December, the Obama administration said it expected to release a preliminary report on how to remake Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac around Feb. 1.

Nor is the administration eager to foster a debate over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an election year, according to analysts and lawmakers.

Payday lenders, pawnbrokers, car dealers and other companies that make loans but do not hold bank charters would be shielded from the scrutiny of a proposed federal consumer protection regulator under the terms of a tentative compromise between senators who are attempting to craft a bipartisan bill.

The Obama administration has pushed to place nearly all lenders under federal oversight for the first time, but Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)

the chairman of the banking committee, according to several people familiar with the negotiations.

Payday lenders, pawnbrokers, car dealers and other companies that make loans but do not hold bank charters would be shielded from the scrutiny of a proposed federal consumer protection regulator under the terms of a tentative compromise between senators who are attempting to craft a bipartisan bill.

The Obama administration has pushed to place nearly all lenders under federal oversight for the first time, but Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)

the chairman of the banking committee, according to several people familiar with the negotiations.

RICHMOND -- The Virginia General Assembly has given final approval to a bill that would make it illegal for the government to require individuals to purchase health insurance, a measure intended to conflict with Democratic efforts to reform health care in Washington.

But Virginia is the first state to complete legislative action on such a bill.

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell said Wednesday that he intends to sign the legislation.

Mar. 10--Britain's banks may struggle to stand on their own feet as they are weaned off public sector support, according to an alarming pair of reports.

Separately, analysts at Credit Suisse estimated the UK's banks will have to raise as much as £750bn of finance in just three years to keep their balance sheets in shape and comply with tougher regulations.

If, as seems likely, they are unable to do this, some banks may have to rein in their lending and shrink their balance sheets, dealing a potential blow to Britain's recovery.