The federal government was well-intentioned when it passed the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 to regulate the banking industry. After all, the trauma of the Great Recession and the banks involved impacted us all.

The old adage — “If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger” — generally applies to biological organisms. But it could also apply to the financial system in Arizona, which has had 14 bank failures since 2009.

In 2012, credit unions nationwide added 2 million new customers, earned a higher rate of return on their assets and saw delinquency rates decline compared to 2011. The improving economy has contributed to their success, but they say the growth is also a result of their determination to grow.

With the committee deadline to hear bills in their chamber of origin passed, the major work of weeding out bills is done. But like weeds, bills are never really dead, and can sprout back up at any time before the session ends.

A House committee on Monday held a bill to allow businesses to borrow against their property taxes to purchase energy efficient upgrades for their commercial properties.

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.

“Like most Americans, it’s clear to me that Washington is broken and it is time for honest people with real world experience to step forward to solve the problems we are facing and get our economy going again,” Carmona said in a press statement.

Credit unions, which have been less affected by the recession than other financial institutions, are seeking the authority to make more business loans to their members. All they need is an act of Congress.

For Tanya Wheeless, the past six years have been a roller coaster ride, from the historic crest of banking activity to the low point at which traditional stalwarts of the financial industry ran completely off the rails.

The Arizona Bankers Association's goal of clamping down on speculative investors who fueled the state's foreclosure crisis will have to wait, now that state lawmakers and Gov. Jan Brewer repealed contested foreclosure legislation passed earlier this year.

It's back to square one for the Arizona Bankers Association. A tenuous deal to alter Arizona laws that govern home foreclosures was struck down by lawmakers on Nov. 18 after objections were raised by the homebuilding industry. The agreement had been struck by the Bankers Association and the Arizona Association of Realtors.