Interest rates

The complaint filed by New York, California and Illinois argues that the regulation, issued in response to the 2015 Madden decision, undermines state laws intended to protect consumers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks to address challenged posed by the sunset of the London interbank offered rate at the end of 2021.

The new regulation is intended as a workaround for banks affected by the 2015 decision that created legal uncertainty for loans sold across state lines.

The head of the U.S. central bank said its emergency credit programs were not designed to prop businesses up over the long term.

A negative Federal Reserve policy rate is still improbable, but if it were to happen it could be a net benefit, according to a note from JPMorgan Chase.

The group that worked with the Fed to devise an alternative rate to Libor rejects criticism that the index favors megabanks.

If Capitol Hill plans another round of stimulus, Democrats could have more leverage to demand steps such as suspending overdraft fees or placing a temporary cap on consumer lending rates.

Most states have some kind of pricing limit on consumer loans. But proposals for a national usury law divide even Democrats, some of whom are concerned about restricting credit.

The Federal Reserve has voted unanimously to cut the interest rate 50 basis points to 1.10% effective March 4, in the first emergency rate cut since 2008.

Regulators' oversight of the industry's switch to a new interest rate benchmark is expected to intensify as a key deadline approaches.

The state has proposed a law to cap the interest rate on certain consumer loans, but nonbanks aim to skirt it by seeking a rent-a-charter.

Federal and state policymakers wagged their fingers this week at high-cost lenders that might be looking to team with banks to evade a 36% ceiling on interest rates.

Concerns over banks’ level of preparation have led to worries about disruptions in the lending market, and some financial institutions warn that a new interest rate benchmark could cause lenders to pull back on credit.

Moody’s said the Fed’s cuts – the first in a decade by the central bank – will boost real estate and consumer ABS collateral by helping lenders uphold underwriting standards and provide affordable debt options to borrowers.

The Mortgage Bankers Association created a template for originators to notify new borrowers when their adjustable-rate mortgage switches to a different index once publication of the London interbank offered rate discontinues.

Although Libor will will not be phased out until at least 2021, Randal Quarles said making the switch early is "consistent with prudent risk management."

The state's financial regulator says Fast Money Loan charged consumers interest rates and fees above the state's usury cap, and operated unlicensed storefronts.

While the London interbank offered rate won't go dark until 2021, the commercial real estate finance industry should start preparing for the transition now, says the Mortgage Bankers Association.

An effort to increase awareness of the transition to a new benchmark rate, and nudge banks to start preparing, is expected to intensify in 2019.

The new policy, meant to assist borrowers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, will let servicers evaluate borrowers using pre-disaster payment information.