Europe's highest court ruled that a French law banning banks from offering interest-bearing checking accounts was illegal.

American law bans banks from moving money earned abroad from some crimes, like drug trafficking, but not corruption.

And legislators voted against a measure that would have banned banks from charging noncustomers a fee for using automated-teller machines.

For example, rules now ban banks from advertising bonuses for opening accounts unless they attach reams of fine print.

It also banned offshore banks.

(Mastercard bylaws ban banks from being on the boards of both associations.)

Logic says Osbourne ought to ban banks from paying any bonuses to senior staff unless they have met their commitments under project Merlin.

Both men have long wanted to ban limited-service banks and were likely to use the bailout legislation as a pretext for other banking measures.

Federal law has banned banks until now from collecting race and gender information for small-business loans to prevent discrimination.

The Administration also argues that banning new limited-service banks would be a major setback to its policy of deregulating the banking system.