Happy Friday!!!
 
🙏 Tough week as our hearts and prayers are with those greatly impacted by the California wildfires.  Here is a pretty good list of resources to help if you so choose (including local to LA such as LAFD Foundation, LA Regional Food Bank, and Pasadena Humane for pet supplies) - CA wildfires - how to help.  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/10/25:
 

• 💥 I am very excited to report the announcement from Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) regarding the appointment of Matthew Smith as its new CEO!!! 🎉  Excellent – congrats Matthew Smith!!!  Can’t wait to see what BHB can accomplish next! 🤠🚀🤘

 

• A quick economic update as the BLS Dec Jobs Report came in SMOKING HOT 🔥 at +256,000 (+155,000 expected, +212,000 revised total for Nov) and unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% (4.2% expected, 4.2% previously)…  CNBC has a ​good summary.  For the prior months revisions (down 15K for Nov), you can check that out here noting that there are always 3 monthly revisions.
  • Uncle Sean goes off the rails here a little bit with some unsolicited commentary, so feel free to scroll on down as I geek out. 🤓
    • Certainly worth noting the recent movement in longer dated treasury yields…  While the FOMC has lowered rates 100 bps since this summer from 5.5% to 4.5%, the 10-yr treasury yield has increased 30% from Sept lows to 4.765%.  The 30-yr treasury yield has increased 25% from Sept lows to 4.96%...
      • Uncle Sean’s take - While the rate curve has uninverted (at least for everything beyond 1 yr), the long end yield has increased substantially which continues to impact mortgage rates putting downward pressure on the housing market; and unrealized loss pressure on banks holding longer dated treasuries.

 

• 💪 DCI flexes their muscles by announcing a record-breaking 2024 year in core conversion sales stating with “16 new core processing contracts and two new Fintech contracts, along with six existing customers planning acquisitions of other financial institutions, its conversion calendar for 2025 is already nearly filled.”  Great job to all at DCI!!! 🚀
  • I must admit that I am not surprised at all by this – good people over there at DCI doing great work for community banks. ❤️

 

• 👀 Integris released their 2025 Annual Bank IT Spend Report (you can download it for free here - https://integrisit.com/resources/us-bank-it-spend-2025-report/) that also has comparisons to prior year results. This is a great report and super easy to read – nice work Cal Roberson and the Integris Team 😊!!!  Here are a few key points:
  • No bank surveyed said they would be cutting IT spend with 70% expecting to increase spend by 10-19% YoY (but surprisingly, 73% of bank executives surveyed could not accurately estimate their annual IT spend).
  • 98% of banks cite “fear of cyberbreach” among the top three drivers of current IT spend (with 43% of executives listing cybersecurity as their #1 concern).
  • 42% of banks cite data analytics as a top priority (noting that zero ranked it as a top concern last year) followed closely by digital transformation at 40%.

 

• 👉 And more flexing…  The Clearing House reported Skyrocketing RTP® Network Growth Sets Stage for 2025.  Noting:
  • YoY payment volume is up 38% to 343M transactions while payment value jumped 94% to $246B.
  • 4Q2024 logged 98M transactions valued at $80B representing 12% volume growth and 16% value growth over 3Q2024.
  • The number of participating banks and credit unions on the RTP network grew 67% YoY as more institutions (particularly smaller FIs) see instant payments as a positive for customer retention.

 

• Lumin Digital announced a partnership with FINBOA to enable Lumin’s customer bas of FIs to “allow their members to self-serve and expedite payment disputes on their accounts for more accurate and efficient resolutions.”

 

• Tradition Capital Bank (FDIC 58057; total assets $2.7B) selects CorServ to launch “an innovative credit card program for commercial, small business, nonprofit, and consumer clients.”
  • If you haven’t noticed, CorServ has been on a roll lately helping many banks and fintech companies launch their own CC programs. 👍

 

• Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX) announced an agreement to acquire Paycor HCM, Inc. (Nasdaq: PYCR) for $4.1B in an all cash transaction.

 

• Core provider Automated Systems, Inc. (ASI), owned by Banyan Software, announced its acquisition of American Bank Systems (ABS) - a compliance-focused software solution for community banks.

 

• Hey – some good news from the CFPB!!!  Highly anticipated and much needed...  This week the CFPB approved Financial Data Exchange, Inc. (FDX) as the standard setting body for open banking (i.e. 1033) for an initial period of five years. The CFPB continues to evaluate other applications for recognition.

 

• Also this week, the CFPB finalized a rule to remove medical debt from credit reports, but was immediately met with lawsuits from the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) and the Cornerstone Credit Union League as well as a second suit from ACA International, claiming the CFPB has exceeded its authority in issuing the rule.

 

• 🙌🎉 And more good news as the CSBS released the fourth quarter 2024 CSBS Community Bank Sentiment Index (CBSI) showing a surge of 17 points over 3Q2024 to 127 – its highest mark since the survey began in 2019.  In the open-ended comments, many community bankers said they are optimistic that regulatory burdens for smaller institutions will improve.
  • Take a look at the increased sentiment regarding Regulatory Burden – sentiment improved 80 points over last quarter to 100!  WOWZA!!!!

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • R&T Deposit Solutions announced leadership transition and promotes Susan Cosgrove as CEO and Chair succeeding Joe Jerkovich as he retires.
  • Finastra welcomes Chris Walters as CEO as Simon Paris hands over the reins following almost a decade of leadership at Finastra.
  • Onbe appointed Sayid Shabeer as its new Chief Product Officer.
  • DailyPay named Nelson Chai as Executive Chair.
  • ICBA has hired Peter Nelson as Sr Executive VP of Member Engagement.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Anatomy Financial (AI-powered financial automation in healthcare) raised $19M in Series A funding round.
  • Onpay (SMB payroll, HR, and benefits platform) raised $63M in Series B funding.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🏈🏈🏈 Can’t wait to watch the #5 Texas Longhorns take on the #8 Ohio State Buckeyes tonight!!!!  Winner will face Notre Dame in the National Championship game on Jan 20.
• We lucked out on the weather situation at our house in East Texas.  Ended up with just rain with no ice or snow – which is a blessing because we received a little over 1 ½ inches of rain.  Still slightly miserable with 33 degrees and rain, but thankful for no snow or ice! WHEW!!!
• You made it!!!  Here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for this week 😊:
  • Sticking with my New Years Resolution to stay more active….  If a cookie falls on the ground and you pick it up….  That counts as a squat, right??? 😎
  • Hmmm…  Going to the gym gives you energy but you need energy to go to the gym….  Sounds like a pyramid scheme to me. 🤣
  • I’m not saying I’m old, but….  I am now at the age where “picking up a hottie at the club” means buying a rotisserie chicken at Sam's! 🍗🤠
  • The good news is I’ve made it to the Golden Years…  The bad news is there aint no gold! 🤷‍♂️
  • When I was younger I asked my math teacher if we would ever use Algebra in real life…  She said, “You won’t, but a few of the smart kids might!”  😲😅

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!!!
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Hoping everyone had a wonderful Holiday season!  News was extremely light as expected the last few weeks, so this will be very brief as we kick off 2025 🎉.  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/3/25:
 

• Sneak peek into next week 😉….  Keep an eye out for big announcements from Bankers Helping Bankers; and be sure to tune into the FinTech Cowboys episode next week that features one of the kindest and sincerest people in the industry (and a dang good executive bank analyst)!!! ❤️

 

• 👀 Over the Holiday’s, we had a few more CU acquisitions of a bank…  The magic number is now 22 for 2024… 
  • Late (at 5PM eastern) on Friday, Dec 20, Hanscom Federal Credit Union (charter 9095; total assets $1.8B) announced an agreement to acquire The Peoples Bank (FDIC 12885; total assets $300M).
  • Then on Monday of this week, Zeal Credit Union (charter 62426; total assets $839M) announced an agreement to acquire Gogebic Range Bank (FDIC 57192; total assets $147M).
    • As stated above, the record of announced CU acquisitions of a bank is now at 22 for 2024 compared to 11 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019 (source: FedFis).
      • 🤔 Just a reminder that not all of these deals get completed as Atlanta Postal CU (charter 67389; total assets $2.4B) and Affinity Bank (FDIC 29510; total assets $879M) announced the mutual termination of their merger agreement after discussions with “applicable regulatory agencies.”

 

• Fiserv (NYSE: FI) announced a definitive agreement to  acquire Payfare Inc. (TSX:PAY) to enhance its embedded banking, lending and card management services.
  • This Payments Dive article is a reminder that Fiserv recently won the DoorDash business from Payfare.

 

• Tough news for CBW Bank (FDIC 13959; total assets $73.6M as of 9/30/24 call report) as the FDIC has issued a Civil Money Penalty (FDIC-22-0171k) (22 pages) in the amount of $20.45M for failing to maintain “an adequate Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance program, which led to multiple incidents where Respondent repeatedly violated the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)… Further, Respondent’s violations were part of a pattern of misconduct, and Respondent received financial gain or other benefit.”  Oof!!! 😯
  • I personally cannot recall a penalty of this material and devastating magnitude from the FDIC given CBW’s size and declining balance sheet ($23M in total equity as of 9/30/24 – source: FedFis)…  Naturally, CBW has no choice but to vigorously contest the penalty in court.
    • 👉 Be sure to follow the amazing Sarah Beth Felix on LinkedIn as she consistently provides amazing factual coverage of these orders (including this one) in an easy to read / understand format – an amazing resource for learning!!! 😊

 

• Infinant closed their $15M Series A funding round led by FINTOP Capital and partner JAM FINTOP BankTech, with participation from Raido Capital Partners, Woodforest Financial Group, and Bankers Helping Bankers. 
  • “With this round, Infinant will continue to expand their product offerings that include the Interlace Console for customer and account management, Settlement Ops for ledger and reconciliation management, Payments Hub that offers centralized payments for ACH, Wire and FedNow, and their Card Platform that includes card issuance and processing directly to Visa DPS.”  NICE!!!! 🚀

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• ❄️🥶 Brrrr…  Be sure to bundle up as an Arctic blast is set to arrive this weekend and will cover the majority of the US.
• The College Football Playoff bracket 🏈 got a little bit clearer this week as #6 Penn State is set to face #7 Notre Dame (Jan 9) in the Orange Bowl; while #5 Texas faces #8 Ohio State (Jan 10) in the Cotton Bowl.  Winners advance to the National Championship game to be played on Jan 20.
• All right – let’s wrap it up with some terrible Holiday themed Dad / Bad Jokes 😊:
  • Scotch tape doesn’t taste anything like Scotch! 🤢😂
  • Day 1 of my New Years diet - I removed all of the bad food from the house….  It was delicious!!! 🌝
  • The classy term for box wine is “cardboardeaux.” 🍷😎 (be sure to hold that pinky out)
    • Is it just me, or is this Dry January thing already dragging on a bit? 🤠
  • If you think about it, lasagna is really just spaghetti flavored cake… 😅
  • And last but not least….  Snowmen hate ranch dressing because everyone rubs their noses in it! ☃️🤣

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend  - and please stay safe (and warm)!!!
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Ho Ho Ho!!!! 🎅 This will officially be the last Uncle Sean Update for 2024 as I will be taking a few days off next week for Christmas (fortunately for me I still have several days left before I even begin Christmas shopping – LOL)!  So from our family to yours, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year! 🎉🍾🙏  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 12/20/24:
 

• 👀 Another exciting announcement from the Bankers Helping Bankers BHB Fund with an investment in Infinant – exciting times for sure!!! 🚀
  • Infinant is impressive (and highly critical in the BaaS space) in providing financial institutions the ability to “power their digital and embedded banking channels without core replacement” on a single platform under 100% bank-control to satisfy regulators. 💥  Love this!!!

 

• It’s Fed Week!!!  In line with market expectations, the FOMC voted to cut rates by 25 basis points bringing the federal funds rate down to 4.25% - 4.50% (down 100 basis points for the year since Sept); and continues the $60B per month balance sheet reduction in treasury and MBS.  But the mood was increasingly hawkish as the SEP (link provided below) reflects only 2 potential rate cuts in 2025, down from 4 as estimated in Sept with many inflationary data points remaining stubbornly sticky while labor markets and economic growth remain relatively strong.  More detail below if you want to get your “inner Fed freak on” like me 😊:
  • FOMC Summary of Economic Projections (SEP)
  • Chairman Powell’s Press Conference Transcript (27 pages) and video (about 53 minutes)

 

• Meanwhile, the BEA November PCE Report (the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation) gave a bit of good news, albeit extremely slight, in terms of tepid inflation…  The PCE price index rose at a 2.4% annual rate (up from 2.3% in Oct) while Core PCE increased at 2.8% annually (same as Oct), both slightly under expectations of 2.5% and 2.9% respectively.
  • But wait – there’s more!!!! The 3Q2024 GDP (third and final estimate) came in at 3.1% up from 3.0% in 2Q2024 showing a continued strong economy; and thus arming the FOMC with the weapon of patience related to future rate cuts.

 

• The OCC published their Semiannual Risk Perspective - Fall 2024 edition (40 pages).  Not really any huge surprises here (the report reflects data from June 30, 2024).  A few key points:
  • Fraud remains a top concern for the banking system
  • CRE (office and multifamily specifically as not all CRE is created equal) risks remain elevated
  • Cyberthreats continue to evolve in complexity targeting banks; and heightened exposures from key service providers and third parties
  • Other operational risk including “increasingly complex relationships with fintech firms” specifically mentioning BSA / AML a heightened compliance risk in those relationships

 

• Additionally, the OCC published their 2024 Annual Report to Congress echoing much of the same including fraud and “risks associated with third-party arrangements to deliver bank deposit products and services.”  Also specific mention of AI in financial services which is a hot topic these days.

 

• ❤️ Uncle Sean loves this too - Gesa Credit Union (Charter 68278; $5.6B in total assets) launched a direct digital brand called ValorFI Heroes offering high-yield savings, checking, and money market accounts, plus CDs.  Available to current and retired educators, first responders, healthcare workers, law enforcement, veterans, and their supporters – their niche is 501(c)(3) pledged donations with every swipe of the members debit card with proceeds supporting a specific hero group.  Very cool!!!
  • Per a LinkedIn post by Mr. Jeffery Kendall, this looks to be powered by Nymbus – although I am not at all surprised as they are very active in the Direct Digital Bank space (especially on the CU side). 👍
    • That’s right… Direct Digital Banks (err – CU’s) are not just for banks… 🤠

 

• Plug and Play (an innovative incubator type platform connecting banktech with banks) announced a new relationship with The Huntington National Bank (Nasdaq: HBAN; FDIC 6560; $200B total assets) as its newest collaborator in the fintech program – go to plugandplaytechcenter.com/industries/fintech for more info on Plug and Play’s fintech (banktech) innovation platform.

 

• Mesh Payments teams up with SoFi Bank as their new sponsor bank and Galileo (owned by SoFi) for payment processing. 👍
  • I can’t help but feel we will see much more of this SoFi / Galileo bundled service for what looks to be a regulatory compliant embedded finance solution in 2025 as SoFi Bank (FDIC 26881; $29B total assets – up 36% YoY and 42% YoY growth in Equity – source: FedFis) is certainly hitting their stride!

 

• 💪 Plinqit (white-label high-yield and automated savings to help FI’s grow deposits) announced record growth as High Yield Savings by Plinqit surpasses $2 Billion in deposits – HOLY SMOKES!!!!  Congrats to the entire Plinqit Team – keep up the good work!!!

 

• 🤔 Rumor mill (because Chime has not confirmed)…  As reported from Bloomberg, Chime has allegedly submitted a confidential filing for an IPO.
  • Recall last month where Klarna (BNPL) filed a confidential draft registration statement for proposed IPO, but Klarna actually confirmed the filing.

 

• The Federal Reserve Board issued a public enforcement action against Lineage Financial Network, the Bank Holding Company (BHC) for Lineage Bank (FDIC 6100; $214M), largely focused on the BHC maintaining the financial and managerial resources to serve as a “source of strength” to the Bank.
  • Worth noting that the Federal reserve PR mentions, “The Board's enforcement action against Lineage Financial Network is independent of the bankruptcy proceedings regarding Synapse Financial Technologies, Inc.”

 

• And of course it would not be a complete week without a CFPB lawsuit 😬 although this specific litigation was not entirely unexpected (especially if you followed some of the Zelle congressional hearings this past summer)…  This week the CFPB sues JPM. BofA, WF, and Early Warning Services (EWS), the operator of P2P payments platform Zelle, alleging the companies failed to protect consumers from fraud.
  • As an FYI…  JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are among the seven banks that own Zelle, along with PNC, U.S. Bank, Truist and Capital One.  The latter four do not appear to be mentioned in the suit.
    • Payments Dive has a really good summary including immediate pushback from EWS and JPM.  Yep – I expect this to get ugly! 😯

 

• Sixth Street has agreed to buy up to $4B of Affirm's BNPL loans over the next three years.  The transaction creates “the ability for Affirm to extend up to more than $20 billion in loans over the next three years as the company continues to scale its payment network.”  (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean)  WOWZA!!!!

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Parafin (embedded finance infrastructure) raised $100M in Series C funding round at a $750M valuation.
  • Bureau (identity verification and fraud prevention platform) $30M in Series B round.
  • Leap Financial (Cross-border payments with AI-powered remittances) raised $3.5M in Seed round funding.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Ole Saint Nick will need to keep an eye out for all those drones / “alien spaceships” (LOL) along the northeast seaboard! 🦌🛷🎅  Be careful Santa – tell Rudolph to go into stealth mode over Jersey, Alabama, and Texas as to not get shot at!!!! 🤣
• And more drone news…  Wing (a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet) is expanding its drone delivery service to DoorDash customers in the DFW Metroplex enabling 50 area merchants to make drone deliveries to homes through the DoorDash app.
• 🏈 Congratulations to Travis Hunter for winning the 2024 Heisman Trophy!!!  He is the first full-time, two-way player to win the Heisman since the early 1960’s; and the first defensive player to win the Heisman since Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.  By the way…  He is also an Academic All-American sporting a cumulative 3.798 GPA. 💥  Congratulations young man – nicely done!!!
  • Speaking of college football….  Here is the bowl season schedule including the playoff rounds – all in chronological order.
• We made it!!!!  Here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • For the English majors and grammar police (you know who you are 😊)…  If Santa and Mrs. Claus had a baby, what would it be???  A subordinate Claus, of course… 🙄🤣
  • What did Adam say the day before Christmas?  “It’s Christmas, Eve!!!”
    • Oh c’mon – that was a great one!!! 😆
  • If anyone is wondering what to get me for Christmas, tell them I wear a size 6 month vacation! 😉
  • Dear Santa, before I explain…  How much do you know already??? 😬🙃
  • This past year I was able to keep all of my New Years resolutions (tucked away in a journal on the bookshelf…). 🤷‍♂️
  • And last but not least, this one comes in from my friend, Mr. Cal Roberson with Integris (managed IT services - check out their financial institution industry expertise at integrisit.com/industries/financial/):
    • The Weight Watches website just asked me if I accept cookies…  Is that a trick question? 😅🍪  LOL – thanks, Cal!!!

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend; a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year - and please stay safe!!!  See y’all next year!!! 🤠
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 

​Happy Friday the 13th 😬!!!
 
Oh, and Happy Birthday to Taylor Swift 🎶🎵!!!  So be sure to spread the word to all the Swifties out there (now that the Eras Tour is over) they can sign up here to have the Uncle Sean Update delivered straight to their inbox every week 🤠.  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 12/13/24:
 

• 💥 Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) is at it again!!!  I am super excited to report another powerhouse in the industry supporting and empowering community banks as LoanPro joins the BHB family!!!  I love this as the folks over at LoanPro are 100% genuinely good people (and they’re smart too)!!!  Definitely check out their scalable API-first lending and credit platform at loanpro.io – and tell them Uncle Sean sent you! 😊

 

• With plenty of eyes focused on the FOMC meeting next week, the latest inflation data is still sticky, but not surprising…  The BLS Nov CPI report ticked up slightly to 2.7% YoY after increasing 0.3% for the month, but in line with expectations.  Core CPI remained at 3.3% where it’s been for the last three months.  CNBC has a pretty good summary.

 

• The FDIC released their Quarterly Banking Profile - Third Quarter 2024 along with Chairman Gruenberg's presentation remarks.  Spoiler alert 😲 – if you’ve been following the “BHB Inside the Numbers” quarterly banking review, you already know this (and you knew it earlier than anyone else by 6 weeks)…  But here are the highlights anyway:
  • Positive increases in Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin as loan yields exceeded the increase in cost of deposits.
  • Meager loan and deposit growth, but growth nonetheless.
  • Overall Asset Quality remains favorable with past due and nonaccrual rates at 1.54%, well below the pre-pandemic rate of 1.94%.  However – continuing to see some weakness in credit card, auto, CRE, and multifamily housing portfolios. 
  • The number of Problem Banks (defined by the FDIC as banks that have a CAMELS composite rating of “4” or “5”) increased by two banks to 68. Keeping in mind that the number of problem banks is well within the normal range for non-crisis periods of 1% - 2% of all banks.
    • 💪 Bragging time!!!!  Shout out to our FedFis Analyst Team as we are showing 68 banks with a FedFis Rating© of 3.80 or worse (on the same “1.00 is good and 5.00 is bad” scale) representing the bottom 1% of all banks.  Nice job if I do say so myself!!! 😊

 

• Upbound (Nasdaq: UPBD) to acquire Brigit (EWA, credit builder, and financial wellness platform) for $460M in a mixed deal of cash and stock comprised of $325 million payable at closing (75% in cash and 25% in Upbound shares); plus $75 million in deferred cash consideration over two years; and a potential earnout of up to $60 million in cash based on achievement of certain financial performance metrics.

 

• 👀 Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: GEN) announced a definitive agreement to acquire MoneyLion Inc. (NYSE: ML) in a total transaction valued at approximately $105 per share, composed of $82 per share in cash payable at closing (about $1B) and additional potential of $23 per share in Contingent Value Rights (CVRs).  Here is the GEN Investor Deck presentation for more detail.

 

• Patriot National Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: PNBK), lead bank subsidiary is Patriot Bank, National Association (FDIC 3928; total assets $998M) filed an 8-K this week stating they have “…launched an evaluation process to explore capital markets and strategic initiatives with the goal of maximizing shareholder value. This effort, conducted through Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC (“Performance Trust”), a leading investment banking firm, will evaluate potential opportunities including capital raise, strategic partnership, sale, and/or merger and acquisition interest.” (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean)

 

• Triumph Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq: TFIN) lead bank subsidiary is TBK Bank, SSB (FDIC 23498; total assets $5.9B), a financial holding company focused on payments, factoring, and banking particularly in the transportation industry, has acquired the assets of Isometric Technologies Inc. – a supply chain performance platform for shippers and transportation providers, further bolstering the banks presence and support In the transportation industry.  I like it!!! 👍

 

• And BofA gives a digital treasury flex 💪 this week…  Bank of America’s CashPro® App to surpass $1 Trillion in payment approvals this year as companies continue to use the mobile application to manage their treasury operations.
  • The article goes on to state that payment transaction have increased 25% over last year; and they have approximately 550,000 users at 40,000 companies around the world.  WOW!!!

 

• 👉 Lumin Digital partners with FinGoal to allow Lumin’s FI users to “leverage FinGoal’s data-driven insights to create personalized offers for their end-users and create higher conversion rates for their offers and campaigns.”  Congrats all around as this looks to be a very nice partnership!!!! 😊

 

• And a couple of MANTL announcements this week:
  • TruMark Financial Credit Union (Charter 66158; total assets $3.4B) announced a partnership with MANTL to enhance its in-branch and online business and consumer account opening.  Integrated with TruMark’s Jack Henry Symitar allows for automation of “over 90% of application decisions, including KYC, AML, BSA, product service ordering, funding, and core booking, to create efficiencies and keep manual processes to a minimum.”
  • 👀 Meanwhile…  MANTL announced the expansion of their deposit origination platform to now support business and consumer loan originations as well.  “By creating one seamless platform for loan and deposit origination, MANTL will help banks and credit unions supercharge growth, create real-time cross-sell opportunities, improve customer and employee experience, and benefit from underwriting automation and enhanced back-office efficiency.”

 

• Synergent announced a new partnership with equipifi to easily launch BNPL for credit unions using Synergent to access Jack Henry’s Symitar core processing.

 

• Energy Capital CU (charter 61936; total assets $251M) selects Velera (fka PSCU / Co-Op Solutions) as their new debit card processor.

 

• Ibanera (fintech enablement platform) is partnering with FIS to launch their new comprehensive Visa prepaid card program tailored for both business and consumers in the U.S.

 

• Slope launched a commercial buy now, pay later (BNPL) card solution powered by Marqeta that enables brands and marketplaces to allow their B2B customers to pay in-store or online with 30- or 60-day loan options.

 

• TD Bank (FDIC 18409; total assets $400B and a major CC issuer) has teamed up with Backbase to evolve its retail card business starting with +2 million customers of a (unnamed) “large strategic card partnership program.”

 

• ICYMI…  The CFPB issued a final rule on overdraft credit offered by very large financial institutions (assets more than $10B).  In short, the rule states that large FI’s can 1) charge $5 for overdrafts, or 2) limit the fee to an amount that covers the lenders’ costs, or 3) charge any fee while disclosing the interest rate of the loan.
  • As expected, the ruling was almost immediately met with a lawsuit from industry trade groups against the CFPB’s final overdraft rule.
    • Not that anyone asked Uncle Sean’s opinion 😉, but the CFPB ruling scheduled to take effect Oct 1, 2025 sure feels a little ill-timed given the new political administration’s expectation to appoint a new head of CFPB in January. 🤷‍♂️  Recall where the CFPB rule regarding CC late fee cap of $8 is still stuck in court.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Jiko raised $29M in Series C round and strengthens its Board and Advisory Committee.
    • Personal note - Uncle Sean is happy to see this 🤠 as the Jiko story is one of my favorites and I share their story often (one of the earliest examples of a fintech acquiring their sponsor bank).  This also undoubtedly helps solidify Jiko Group, Inc. (the bank holding company for Mid-Central National Bank) position as a “source of strength” for the bank per the Federal Reserve public enforcement action last July.  Nice work! 🚀  Oh – and be sure to check them out at Jiko.com as it is a very cool platform.
  • Atlas Card (modern charge card issued by Lead Bank) raised $27M in Series B funding and announced a “breakout year, surpassing $200 million in annualized spend volume and achieving double-digit monthly growth, without any paid marketing spend.”
  • Current (consumer fintech banking platform) raised $200M in new capital with a 90% increase in revenue for 2024 and plans of “reaching profitability in 2025.”

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Cleanup on aisle four as this is starting to turn a little bit ugly!!! 😬  Albertsons has terminated the approximately $25B merger with Kroger after a judge blocked it; and is now suing Kroger seeking billions of dollars in damages along with a $600M termination fee alleging they did not do enough to get the deal approved.
• 🦋 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife seeking public comment on a proposed rule to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.  Time to kick those pollinator gardens into high gear!!!
• Here we go - the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • I figured it out…  The reason why grilled cheese and tomato soup go so well together is because it’s basically pizza split into two foods… 🍕😋
  • What does a house wear?  Address…. 😏
  • “As one door closes, another one opens…”  - as I’m eating the entire Advent calendar! 😅
  • Salons always have hair on the floor…  Bakeries always have flour on the floor…  Garages always have oil on the floor…  C’mon Bankers, it’s like you’re not even trying!!!! 😂🤣

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!!!
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Uncle Sean is back from some much needed time off for Thanksgiving 🦃 where I learned that “leftovers are for quitters!!!” 🤣  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 12/6/24:
 

• WOW – Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) has been busy (and blessed).  Check out these recent announcements:
  • Shout out to Smiley Technologies, Inc. as the latest innovative institution to join Bankers Helping Bankers as a premier sponsor helping to drive and support community banks!!!
    • "Smiley Technologies has a long-standing reputation for delivering exceptional support to community banks through its flexible, responsive core solutions," said Matthew Smith, President of Bankers Helping Bankers. "As a premier sponsor, they’re not just contributing to our mission—they’re enhancing it. Together, we’re working to create a future where community banks have every tool needed to succeed, supported by a network of partners who truly understand and advocate for their unique needs." 🚀
  • PLUS…  A virtual high five and fist bump 👊 to E.W. & J. David Williams Family Trust Institute for Community Banking & Finance at Texas Tech University as the newest sponsor for "Friends of Bankers Helping Bankers" (BHB). ❤️
  • AND…  Another virtual high five and fist bump 👊 goes out to OAK Bank Services for their generous donation to Bankers Helping Bankers in support of community banks across the nation in supporting local economies. ❤️

 

• 👀 ICYMI - Frank Bisignano, Fiserv Chairman, President and CEO, has been nominated by President-elect Trump as Commissioner Social Security Administration.
  • Payments Dive has a good summary noting Bisignano’s track record of transforming large corporations, as Trump said in a post on Truth Social; as well as mention of Fiserv Executive Vice President Takis Georgakopoulos as a possible CEO replacement (per analyst speculation – no official word from Fiserv).

 

• And some summary economic data as we look forward to the next FOMC meeting coming up on December 17 – 18 (and ahead of the CPI inflation report due next Wednesday, Dec 11):
  • The BLS November Jobs Report came in a bit on the hot side with 227K jobs added (versus Dow Jones estimate of 214K) as well as a +24K upward revision to Oct to a total of 36K.  Unemployment ticked up to 4.2% as expected (last month was 4.1% while last year was 3.7%) and wage growth remains steady at 4.0% over last year (same for the last three months).
    • CNBC has a good summary as always.  If you want to dig into the revisions (normal part of the process), you can check that out here.
  • Another slightly hot read – Core PCE for October edged up to 2.8% from 2.7% for the prior three months. 
  • And the Federal Reserve Beige Book for November showed very slight increases in economic activity across most districts with employment levels remaining flat to up slightly as hiring activity remains subdued due to low employee turnover.

 

• 💪 Uncle Sean loves this!!!  Texas based Legend Bank (FDIC 3108; total assets $1.1B) announced a partnership with Infinant to power the bank’s newly launched Fintech Partner Banking division.  NICE!!!!! 🚀
  • Check out Infinant and their Interlace Platform for embedded banking solutions at Infinant.com – good things happening over there!

 

• Red River Bank (FDIC 34980; total assets $3.1B) selects Allied Payment Network for the bank’s “real-time payments solutions, which will integrate seamlessly with the bank’s Q2 Digital Banking Platform” that was also recently announced back in Oct. 👍

 

• 💥The Clearing House is increasing the RTP® network transaction limit to $10M - a 10X increase over the existing $1M limit.  The new limit is set to be effective beginning Feb 9, 2025 and is expected to spur “higher value transactions in real estate, supply chain, inter-company transfers, large merchant settlements, and other business-to-business transactions.”
  • 🤔 If I were a betting man, I would expect similar changes to Same Day ACH coming soon…

 

• Charlie (fintech banking app for Americans aged 62+) is making headlines again this week with the launch of CharlieSaver, a comprehensive source of senior discounts nationwide covering over 20,000 discounts across 1,000 shopping centers.
  • Worth noting that “Charlie Saver is free to use and available to all older Americans, not just Charlie customers.”  Nice!!! 😊

 

• And a host of AI-related announcements:
  • Inbenta and ebankIT have partnered together to enhance digital banking experiences with AI-driven customer engagement on ebankIT’s digital banking platform.
  • Shastic announced partnership integration with MeridianLink to provide AI workflow automation for banks and credit unions via the MeridianLink® Marketplace.
  • Uptiq.AI has acquired UpSwot enhancing Uptiq.AI’s enterprise AI platform.  “…the enhanced platform will allow financial institutions to seamlessly leverage structured and unstructured data for a wide array of use cases, from personalized customer interactions to complex decision-making processes like loan origination, compliance and portfolio management.”
  • Mbanq announced the launch of Mbanq Comet, an AI-powered digital loan origination platform that makes full use of artificial intelligence to modernize and enhance the lending process.  And integrates seamlessly with any core banking system.

 

• In the private credit space…  BlackRock continues its acquisition spree by acquiring HPS Investment Partners in a $12B stock deal.

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • DailyPay appointed Ryan Mang as Chief Commercial Officer.
  • Pipe (embedded financial solutions for SMB’s) announced the appointments of Claurelle Rakipovic as CPO, Nate Wiger as CTO, Amy Loh as CMO, and Jon Lear as Global Head of Growth following Pipe’s recent global expansion and the launch of the Pipe Business Card.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Cardless (modern card platform for brands) raised $30M in capital quoting “10x revenue growth since the start of 2023.”
  • Lumin Digital (cloud-native digital banking provider) picked up over $160M in growth equity funding stating a revenue growth rate of over 60% from last year.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🎄Check out the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center as reported by NBC.  And more good news - the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is set to reopen this Saturday, Dec 7, for the first time since the devastating fire in 2019.
• Speaking of December 7th, take a look at this Pearl Harbor remembrance from The National WWII Museum as I am pretty sure that all of us have at least one extended family relative that served.
• And everyone’s favorite – the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • What do turkeys eat for Thanksgiving?  Nothing – they’re  already stuffed!!! 😂
  • I used to just crastinate…  Then I decided to go pro. 🏆
  • Can  you buy other chess pieces at a pawn shop? ♟️🤷‍♂️
  • Doing yoga everyday is a bit of a stretch…. 😅
  • And last but not least….  Life is short - smile while you still have teeth!!!! 🤣🙃

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!!!
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Plenty to be thankful for as we get ready to head into Thanksgiving week 🙏.  From all of us here at FedFis, we certainly hope that each of you are able to spend some relaxing time with family, friends, and loved ones as we march full steam ahead into the Holiday season.🎄❤️  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 11/22/24:
 

• 💥 Headlining this week is a special shout out to my friends at FinPro for their sponsorship as "Friends of Bankers Helping Bankers" (BHB).  Full disclosure – I really, really like these folks as they are highly intelligent, articulate, and motivated; and I’m very excited to continue to collaborate with the FinPro Team as we share so many common interests in supporting community banks and responsible innovation.  Be sure to follow FinPro, Inc. on LinkedIn (I love the short and informative videos)!!!

 

• 👀 The CSBS joins a growing list of industry pundits pushing back on the recent FDIC NPR on Brokered Deposit Reclassification by issuing a formal statement stating the proposal “is flawed and should be rescinded in its entirety.” 👏

 

• The Office of Financial Research released their released their 2024 Annual Report to Congress highlighting risks and vulnerabilities than can impair U.S. financial stability.
  • 👉 The punchline is that most vulnerabilities remain unchanged from the prior year.  The report covers Asset Markets, Business and Households, Financial Institutions (begins on pg 50), and Money Markets.
    • Here is the full 111 page 2024 Annual Report if you want to dig in.

 

• And a couple of CFPB announcements this week:
  • In light of the failure (fraudulent misconduct) of First National Bank of Lindsay, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, issued a statement on deposit insurance reform calling on Congress to either “remove — or at least dramatically increase — limits on federal deposit insurance for payroll and other non-interest bearing operating accounts.” (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean)
  • CFPB issues Final Rule on Oversight of Digital Payment Apps.  The biggest takeaway is the higher threshold targeting companies that handle more than 50 million transactions per year (up from the original 5 million); and limits the rule to transactions in U.S. dollars (exempting “digital currencies”).  Payments Dive has a good summary.  The rule is set to go into effect 30 days after it’s published in the Federal Register

 

• Meanwhile, the FDIC has extended the comment period by 45-days to Jan 16, 2025 for the FDIC NPR on recordkeeping for custodial accounts.  The original NPR published on Sep 17 aims to “strengthen recordkeeping for bank deposits received from third party, non-bank companies accepting those deposits on behalf of consumers and businesses.”  Also referred to as the “Synapse Rule.”

 

• 👀 Moody’s announced they have acquired Numerated as Moody’s continues to build out their end-to-end loan origination and monitoring platform.

 

• And more continued Small Business focus coming from some big players…  Fiserv (NYSE: FI) and ADP (Nasdaq: ADP) announced a strategic partnership to empower small business success by bringing together Fiserv’s Clover® and CashFlow CentralSM, with the industry-leading small business payroll and HR solution, RUN Powered by ADP®.  NICE!!!! 😊🚀

 

• Charlie (the fintech banking app for Americans aged 62+) announced the release of Family FraudShield, a free conversational guide to help Americans talk with their older relatives about financial fraud – particularly during the Holiday season.

 

• DR Bank (FDIC 58257; total assets $704M) is using Upstart's small-dollar loan product providing a fast, simple, and affordable solution for the banks customers facing urgent financial challenges via Upstart’s AI-powered digital lending model (Nasdaq: UPST).  The relief loans are available in amounts of $250 – $2,500 and for term of 3 – 18 months.

 

• MANTL announced they have selected Pinwheel to be the preferred provider for Direct Deposit Switching for MANTL partners and their consumers.

 

• Knot announced the launch of Knot AccountUpdater allowing “card issuers using Knot’s CardSwitcher™ product to update cardholder details—including card information, name, address, and phone number—across Knot-connected merchants with a single API call, requiring no effort from the cardholder.”

 

• And the winner is….  The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) has been selected by the U.S. Treasury in a 5-year deal as agent for the Direct Express program, a prepaid debit card program for government benefits to approximately 3.4 million Americans, many of which are unbanked.
  • Per the BNY press release, additional providers to the Direct Express program include Mastercard, Galileo, MoCaFi, Senture, Sunrise Banks, N.A., and Ubiquity Global Services, Inc. 
    • Personally, I love the fact that BNY gave a shoutout to all other participants in the program – nice touch! 👍

 

• Sound Credit Union (Charter 66331; total assets $3B) expands their partnership with Candescent “adding digital account opening and onboarding as well as compelling self-service features such as credit score and continuous verification.”

 

• Michigan State University Federal Credit Union dba MSUFCU (Charter 23279; total assets $8.2B) partners with Reset to deploy Reset’s EWA solution to MSUFCU members.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Kalder (white-label partner rewards platform for brands) raised $10.5M in Seed round capital.
  • Cardo AI (tech platform for asset-based finance and private credit) raised $15M in Series A funding round with FINTOP Capital, JAM FINTOP, and Blackstone Innovations Investments operating as co-leads.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• “OMG the McRib is back” (and of course I am compelled to insert Hangover 3 video clip here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwBSN9xsHac 🤪) beginning Dec 3rd – and you can buy the sauce by the half-gallon jug now if you so fancy!!!
• Looking forward to what is forecasted to be a beautiful Fall weekend here in East Texas with daytime temps around 75 and lows in 40’s – 50’s.  Nice outside firepit weather for sure!!!! 🍺🍷
• We made it – here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • I’m not saying I’m getting old, but I have officially reached the age where sometimes I can’t tell if I'm injured, or if this is just how I walk now!  😊
  • Do clown farts smell funny??? 🤡  OH C’MON – that was funny and you know it!!!! 😂
  • According to my chocolate Advent calendar, there are only three days left until Christmas… 🙃🤷‍♂️
  • And last but not least…  For my Dallas Cowboys 🏈 fans….  The Star is not a logo…  Apparently it’s a “one out of five” rating…. 😢😬

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend – GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY - and please stay safe!!!
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Only one more full week to go until Thanksgiving Week ☺️🦃!!!!!  But first, here is the Uncle Sean Update for 11/15/24:
 

• The BLS Oct CPI report came in at 2.6% in line with expectations and slightly above last month’s reading of 2.4% with shelter prices continuing to drive the majority of the increase in CPI.  Core CPI remained at 3.3% also in line with expectations.  On a monthly basis, CPI was 0.2% for the fourth consecutive month while monthly Core CPI was 0.3% (also meeting forecasts).  CNBC has a good summary.

 

• 👀 For my community bank friends…  Acceleron Bank (in formation) announced their strategic partnership with Fiserv by integrating Acceleron’s FX marketplace with Fiserv Payments Exchange bringing an end-to-end automated and cost-effective international wire solution designed to benefit community financial institutions traditionally underserved in FX.  A few of the key highlights:
  • Faster Integration: Pre-integrated with Payments Exchange for seamless setup.
  • FX Marketplace Bidding: Multiple correspondent banks bid for each transaction for optimal FX rates (via Acceleron's SmartRoute system).
  • Error Reduction & Speed: Automated processing for accurate, reliable transactions.
    • 👉 Full disclosure – I love ❤️ my friends at Acceleron Bank (in formation).  They are highly intelligent, motivated, and passionate about community banking.  Good people doing good work is ALWAYS a powerful combination! 🚀

 

• Late last Friday, the NCUA conserved Alliance Credit Union of Florida (Charter 67432; total assets $59M).  Alliance has 5,394 members and 2 locations.
  • Although the NCUA did not specifically cite cause for the conservatorship, a quick look at FedFis Credit Union data shows:
    • Alliance has a FedFis Rating of 4.60 as of 9/30/24 placing them in the bottom 1% of all CU’s (yes, we have CU ratings as well 😊).  They appear to be having some loan delinquencies and charge-off’s – particularly in the Used and New Automobile segments. Significant increases in Credit Loss Provision on the Income Statement and increased Noninterest Expenses (specifically Office Operations) have resulted in material losses YTD of $2.4M which has resulted in equity decline to a balance of only $376K.
      • Housekeeping note…  Keep in mind that a conservatorship is not a failure.  The NCUA can place a CU into conservatorship in order to resolve operational problems that could affect that CU’s safety and soundness.  During conservatorship, the CU remains open, members may transact business, and accounts remain insured up to applicable limits.  If the CU is unable to overcome its operational issues the CU can move to merge with another CU, or the NCUA can liquidate the CU.

 

• 😬 While we are on the subject of failures, the FDIC and the OIG released their Material Loss Review of Republic First Bank (FDIC 27332; total assets $5.9B as of 12/31/23).  Per the FedFis write-up in April 2024 from yours truly 😊, “Republic Bank had significant operational performance issues involving duration risk, liquidity, and unrealized losses in the securities portfolio…  Total tangible equity of $101M renders them insolvent when adjusting for HTM Securities at FV.”
  • The Material Loss Review gave the same conclusion in that the bank “could no longer hold its “held-to-maturity” debt securities to maturity, requiring the Bank to reclassify them as “available-for-sale” securities.  Because of insufficient liquidity, the Bank then further determined it was “more-likely-than-not” that it would have to sell these securities before the recovery of the amortized cost, thereby requiring the Bank to recognize significant fair value losses in its net income.  Once this occurred, the Bank became critically undercapitalized for PCA purposes and was closed by the PAoDBS.”
    • Also of note is the direct quote “…the dysfunctional Board and management team was a significant contributing factor to the Bank’s troubled condition, its inability to adjust strategies and address increasing risk, and its eventual failure.” (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean).  HOLY MOLY that’s got to sting a little bit!!! 😲

 

• Payments flex 💪…  The RTP® network, operated by The Clearing House, continues to break records including:
  • Now averages over 1 million payments per day and set single day records of 1.46 million transactions valued at $1.24 billion on November 1.
  • October record of 31.7 million transactions valued at $25.4 billion, up 6.2% and 9% respectively, from September.

 

• Dave (NASDAQ: DAVE) makes business model changes in light of last week's FTC complaint.  Per the article, the neobank announced compliance-focused changes to its business model during the 3Q earnings call, including a new sponsor bank that was not identified, but stated it was publicly traded.
  • 👀 For what it’s worth…  The legacy incumbent sponsor bank is embattled Evolve Bank & Trust…  Of course no one asked me 😊, but thinking out loud here…   I’m wondering if the new sponsor bank could possibly be SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI) since Galileo (a subsidiary of SoFi) is currently involved in powering Dave banking products...  Want more strategic intel like this???  Contact our very own Bobby Button and ask about our FedFis FinTech Analytics© database (Uncle Sean loves a shameless plug). 💥

 

• Mastercard launched Mastercard Biz360 in partnership with Hello Alice and vcita.  The Biz360™ platform is a comprehensive digital solution designed to help financial and service providers offer their small business customers a way to consolidate the digital tools they use to run and grow their businesses.

 

• Paychex announced the launch of Paychex Funding Solution to give small and mid-sized business quick access to capital via invoice factoring without needing to be a Paychex payroll client.  Paychex also offers Small Business Loans through Biz2Credit.

 

• Mesa announced the launch of the Mesa Homeowners Card premium credit card that offers rewards focused on homeowners including mortgage payments and home expenses – without an annual membership fee.

 

• Having been anticipated for a while…  Klarna (BNPL) finally announced confidential draft Registration Statement to the SEC for proposed IPO.  Of course, due to the confidential nature of the registration, valuation and share info was not disclosed.

 

• Warrior Rising expands access to capital for veteran-owned businesses through partnerships with Parlay Finance and Live Oak Bank.  Nice!!!! 😊

 

• Grasshopper Bank (FDIC 59113; total assets $871M) partners with EnFi AI-based advanced credit analysis and risk monitoring solutions to boost operational efficiency.

 

• Following a successful pilot launch in April 2024 incorporating Galileo and SoFi Bank, Rapid Finance expands availability of Rapid Access Prepaid Mastercard to all eligible business Line of Credit (LOC) clients.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Parker (fintech banking services for ecommerce brands) raised $20M in Series B funding round.
  • Affiniti (SMB co-branded credit cards) raised $62M in capital including an $11M Seed Round plus $16M in debt financing (of which $15M has option to upsize to $50M for a total of $51M in debt financing).
  • Talli (digital payments platform for the legal industry) raised $4M in Seed funding.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• It’s here!  The Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson boxing match is tonight Nov 15th at 7:00PM CST live on Netflix (but I expect the actual main fight to start much later).  At 58 years old, will Mike Tyson’s power and supreme knowledge of the sport be enough to defeat Jake Paul at 27 years old?  Reaction time should play a role plus a significant reach advantage for Paul (76” versus Tyson’s 71”) – not to mention stamina.  At Mike’s age, can he still get inside and deliver those powerful uppercuts and hooks with body roll and pivot without getting hit hard by Paul; and will Paul’s relative inexperience be his downfall?  Guess we will see tonight…  Here are some fight predictions from boxing experts.  It’s the classic “young bull versus old bull” scenario…  At some point youth will win out, but it may not be tonight! 🥊
• You can stop scrolling now – you made it to the Dad / Bad Jokes 😊:
  • Did we do it???  Did we save the daylight??? 🤷‍♂️🙃
    • And for crying out loud – how much daylight are they trying to save cause it’s way too dark when I get off work now!!!! 🙄😉
  • I’m not sure what my spirit animal is, but I’m fairly confident it has rabies! 😅🤪
  • What do you call a boomerang 🪃 that doesn’t come back?  A stick… 🫤
  • And last but certainly not least – another PSA from Uncle Sean….  No matter how good the hand soap smells, NEVER walk out of a public restroom sniffing your fingers…. 🤣 😂

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!!!
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
Apparently, there was an election this week (yep – who knew??? 🤷‍♂️🤠) so the FinTech and Banking news was fairly light (thankfully).  As a result, this week’s update will be short and sweet with Happy Veterans Day wishes as we honor and recognize all who have served in wartime and peacetime!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 11/8/24:
 

• SUPER CONGRATULATIONS to Ms. Tanna Faulkner, SVP at DCI for winning the coveted Buffalo Award at the FedFis Roundup Conference!!!! 🦬❤️🏆  The presentation ceremony by Matthew Smith (last year’s recipient of the Buffalo Award) was very special with tributes to her Dad who was a community banker.  By the end of the award ceremony, there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire hall.
  • For those who may be unfamiliar, the FedFis Buffalo Award is given annually to the person who has made the most impact on saving community banking over the past year.  If you know anything at all about Tanna, you know that this is really representative of a lifetime achievement award for her many years of service in supporting community banks; and mentoring so many of us along the way.  We love you, Ms. Tanna!!!!! ❤️  

 

• It’s Fed Week!!!  As expected, the FOMC voted to unanimously cut rates by 25 basis points bringing the federal funds rate down to 4.50% - 4.75%; and continue the $60B per month balance sheet reduction in Treasury securities rolling off as they mature.
  • More details if you want it:
    • Chairman Powell’s Press Conference Transcript (22 pages) and video (42:09)
  • And of course a few key takeaways from Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference transcript (from Uncle Sean’s perspective anyway 😊):
    • “The economy is strong overall and has made significant progress toward our goals over the past two years.” – pg 1 opening paragraph.
    • “even with today's cut policy is still restrictive” – pg 10.
    • Reiteration that “the U.S. fiscal -- federal government's fiscal path -- fiscal policy is on an unsustainable path. The level of our debt relative to the economy is not unsustainable. The path is unsustainable. And we see that…  it is ultimately a threat to the economy.” – pg 17.

 

• 👀 And another CU acquisition of a bank…  This week it is DFCU Financial Credit Union (charter 61844; total assets $6.6B) to acquire Winter Park National Bank (FDIC 59105; total assets $845M)…  This is DFCU’s second acquisition of a bank following the acquisition of First Citrus Bank in Tampa that was announced in 2022 and completed in 2023.
  • Keeping score – the record of announced CU acquisitions of a bank is now at 20 so far for 2024 compared to 11 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019 (source: FedFis).

 

• Infinant partners with Sutton Bank (embedded finance Sponsor Bank; FDIC 5962; total assets $1.5B) to advance and streamline the banks “payment processing and settlement activity across the bank's processor and program partners.”  By utilizing Infinant’s Interlace Platform, the bank can manage “multiple programs from a single console with real-time access to all program accounts and transactions with automated settlement to the bank's core system” without the need for core replacement or sidecar core.  NICE!!!!! 🚀
  • On a personal note, I had a chance to sit down and talk with the folks at Infinant this week – some really good people doing good work over there! 💪  If you reach out to them, tell them Uncle Sean sent you! 😊

 

• Lili (small business banking fintech) is launching Lili Connect, an embedded finance distribution strategy / integration allowing partners to offer Lili’s financial tools (small business banking, accounting, and tax process) directly to their own small business customers.

 

• And more small business focus ICYMI…  Novo (banking for entrepreneurs and solopreneurs) unveils a comprehensive suite of credit, financing, and bookkeeping solutions for small business owners that includes the launch of the Novo Business Credit Card issued by Continental Bank; and Novo Invoice Flex allowing customers to advance the full amount of their invoices instantly upon sending.

 

• Wings Financial Credit Union (Charter 68601; total assets $9.3B) selects Finzly’s modern payment hub to “streamline wires, ACH, and real-time payments on FedNow and RTP, ensuring compliance with ISO 20022 while enhancing efficiency and enriching the member experience.”

 

• Evolve Bank & Trust pens an Open Letter to their Open Banking Customers as they begin returning funds that Evolve holds to Synapse Brokerage end users.  The letter states that there “is no shortfall at Evolve” and that third party detailed reconciliation by Ankura “proved Synapse’s ledgers were false.”  Further stating:
  • “Of course, Evolve is just one piece of the puzzle. From the beginning, it has been a challenge to determine where end user funds are located because Synapse spread end user funds across numerous banks that partnered with or provided services to Synapse Brokerage. And because of Synapse’s incorrect ledgers, it is almost impossible to assess where each end user’s funds are held.”
  • “Without a comprehensive, ecosystem-wide review of transaction data, we cannot speak to what other banks may hold for each end user. But we hope those banks will work with us to compile a more complete picture of which banks held funds for which end users. We have asked the other banks previously to share comprehensive transaction data. While they have not yet done so, we remain hopeful that they will and that we will be able to finally determine just where each end users’ funds are.”
    • Oof…  Tough situation for everyone.

 

• Rumor Mill 🤔….  As reported by Bloomberg (and according to people “familiar with the matter” that asked not to be identified), financial advisors have allegedly been retained to find a buyer for Bremer Financial Corp., the bank holding company for Bremer Bank, NA (FDIC 12923; total assets $16B).

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Holy smokes it was a CRAZY busy week – but an awesome one as I got to see so many family members and very close business friends (that I consider family as well) at our FedFis Roundup Conference…  So let’s jump right into the good stuff – some good old fashioned Bad / Dad Jokes:
  • If a turkey runs away…  Does that make it a chicken???  🦃
  • What do you get when you cross a shark 🦈 with a cow 🐮???  You get your research funding permanently suspended! 😅
  • There is a new book out called, “How to Clear Leaves From Your Driveway” by Ray King… 🙄😊
  • I told my boss that I was coming to work for Halloween as a ghost…  I’ll be there, you just won’t see me… 😂
  • You know when you buy a bag of salad and it starts getting all brown with that gross water in it…???  Yeah, ice cream doesn’t do that! 🤣

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!!!
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 

​Happy Friday!!!
 
🎃 Hopefully everyone had a joyful Halloween this week!!!  Hard to believe it is already November; and there is an election coming up (get out there and vote if you haven’t already); an FOMC meeting next week; and The Roundup Conference by FedFis – but first, here is the Uncle Sean Update for 11/1/24:
 
Jumping straight into some fresh economic data… 🤓🤠
 

• Third Quarter 2024 GDP (advanced estimate) came in at 2.8% for 3rd Quarter versus an estimate of 3.1% and down from 3.0% last quarter.  CNBC has a good summary.
  • 👉 Keep in mind that this is the advance estimate….  The BEA always releases two estimates of quarterly GDP, known as the advance and preliminary estimates, in the two months before the release of the final number.

 

• PCE (the Fed’s preferred inflation metric) came in at 2.1% for September (a 3 1/2 year low), closing in on the Fed target level of 2% and down from 2.3% in August.  HOWEVER….  Core PCE inflation continues to prove sticky (LOL) at 2.7%.
  • 👀 Core PCE trend – 2.7% May, 2.6% Jun, 2.7% Jul, 2.7% Aug, 2.7% Sep…  Yep – stickier than molasses!

 

• The BLS October Jobs Report comes in at 12K versus 100K estimate with healthcare and government leading job creation (+52K and +40K respectively) with several sectors reporting modest job losses; unemployment remained at 4.1%; and average hourly earnings continues to outpace inflation at 4.0% YoY increase.  Aug / Sept jobs revised down (which has been the trend lately) by -81K and -31K respectively. NBC has a pretty good summary.
  • 👉 As with the GDP estimate, keep in mind that the Jobs Report is always revised for two months following the initial estimates as more data becomes available.  Here is the 2024 BLS Revision History for more detail as this remains a hot topic 🔥 in many economic discussions.

 

• Meanwhile, the 10YR Treasury yield has jumped up to 4.36% (source: https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/US10Y - 11/1/24) which is a 4-month high (and up almost 20% since 9/16 close of 3.64%) despite FOMC rate cuts and what appears to be a cooling economy…???  Yes, I know…  It’s confusing to me too and seems completely bassackwards…  🤷‍♂️😕

 
Okay – back to the rest of the Update:
 

• FirstSun (Sunflower Bank) and HomeStreet failed to meet the necessary regulatory approvals and have been asked to withdraw their merger applications…  🤔  “We are disappointed that the regulators are unwilling to grant the regulatory approvals necessary for the merger to proceed,” stated Mark Mason, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of HomeStreet. “Importantly, HomeStreet has been advised by its regulators that there were no regulatory concerns specifically related to HomeStreet that would have prevented approval of the merger.”
  • Yessir - That’s the merger equivalent of stating, “I’m not saying it’s your fault, but it sure ain’t mine!” 😅

 

• Following recent announcements of international expansion and a $100M bump in their credit facility, DailyPay (EWA) has launched Internation Remittances “powered by the financial technology solution ReadyRemit by Brightwell and Visa Direct.” (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean)

 

• 💪 ZSuite Tech continues is trek across America – this week, BankNewport launches ZEscrow for Rhode Island business.
  • I swear they are going to run out of banks soon!  LOL!!!  The Team at ZSuite Tech is on a roll! 🚀

 

• Spruce by H&R Block expands its partnership with Atomic by integrating Atomic’s PayLink Switch alongside Atomic's Deposit solution to “streamline the flow of money into and out of consumers’ accounts, providing a comprehensive solution for managing direct deposits and switching payments to Spruce.”

 

• First Bank of the Lake (FDIC 26960; total assets $1.5B) leans into embedded finance by partnering with Infinant and utilizing Infinant’s Interlace Platform to power digital and embedded banking channels within the bank without core replacement.  Nice!!!! 🤘

 

• dash.fi partners with Episode Six (E6) to launch its Net 60 term business charge card powered by E6.

 

• Marqeta announced the launch of Marqeta Flex (an embedded BNPL solution) to allow personalized BNPL options for consumers (at point of need) directly into payment apps and wallets.  Check it out (no pun intended 😊) at Marqeta Flex.

 

• Synchrony (NYSE: SYF; FDIC 27314; total assets $112B) and JCPenney extend their nearly 25-year partnership; and announce the addition of Synchrony Pay Later, a buy now, pay later financing option, to be offered at JCPenney to meet customer needs, especially in JCPenney's fine jewelry business. 

 

• Pinwheel partners with Terafina/Candescent to bring “Pinwheel's direct deposit switching solution to Terafina's/Candescent's bank and credit union customers, providing them with a streamlined and unified account opening experience across digital and in-person channels.”

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • Revio Insight names John Wallace as VP of Sales – congrats, John!!!  With Brian Bauer, Sanjay Bhaskar, and now John Wallace – this is a team to watch! 💥
  • Moneygram appoints Anthony Soohoo as CEO.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Tilled (embedded payments) raised $12.5M in new capital.
  • Melio (B2B payments) raised $150M in Series E funding round at a $2B valuation! 🦄

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our baby girl Claire this weekend!!!!  Mom and Dad love you!!! ❤️  And this birthday officially marks the bittersweet moment of no more teenagers left in the Mayo clan!  What a wild ride it’s been!!! 🥲😊 
• ⏰ DON’T FORGET – the Time Change is this weekend as we “fall back” and gain an extra hour of sleep!!! 💤  I need it!!!!
• The Los Angeles Dodgers picked up their eighth World Series Championship by overcoming a 5-run deficit over the Yankees for a 7-6 win in Game 5.  ESPN has a pretty cool write-up.

• Here we go – the Dad / Bad Jokes:
  • I do crunches 2X per day…  Captain in the morning and Nestle in the evening! 😊
  • I hear people say “if you want loyalty, get a dog,” but I’m fairly positive that my dog would abandon me in a dark alley for a three-day old pizza crust, so maybe loyalty has layers… 🐶😅
  • So my bank just added a new service that sends me a text message with my bank balance when I ask.  It’s kind of cool, but I wish they wouldn’t add “LOL” at the end… 😂🤣
  • “Apparently” stress balls are not supposed to be thrown directly at the person stressing you out….  Who knew??? 🤷‍♂️
  • And lastly….  I never make the same mistake twice…  I typically go for five or six times in a row – you know, just to be sure! 😉🤠

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!!!
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
 
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
WOW this week was jam packed with high profile market research headlines – so let’s jump right in!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 10/25/24:
 

• Hey – remember last week when Uncle Sean asked if we will start to see banks explore fintech acquisitions for instant deposit and noninterest income growth???  Well, that didn’t take long (LOL) as First Carolina Bank (FDIC 35530; total assets $3B) announced an agreement to acquire BM Technologies for $67M.  This is a really cool story as First Carolina bank is one of the Sponsor Banks for BMTX.
  • As the World Turns 😊…. (pardon me while I completely geek out – LOL)…
    • Recall many moons ago where BankMobile was a direct digital bank division of Customers Bank (FDIC 34444), but was spun off and sold making Customers Bank an immediate Sponsor Bank to BMTX.  Years later, BMTX had attempted to get its own bank charter buy acquiring First Sound Bank (FDIC 57799), but that deal was ultimately terminated; and First Sound bank was acquired by Harborstone Credit Union earlier this year.
    • Seeking to diversify from Customers Bank, BMTX announced First Carolina Bank as their new sponsor bank for the BankMobile Vibe accounts. 
    • Now the Sponsor Bank has acquired the fintech…  “Upon completion of the transaction, BM Technologies will become a wholly owned subsidiary of First Carolina Bank….  will continue operating under the BM Technologies name…”  Basically – BM Technologies will return to being a Direct Digital Bank, but this time as a division of First Carolina Bank.
      • That was a cool trip down BaaS Memory Lane – LOL!!!! 🤓

 

• 👀 And another CU acquisition of a bank…  This week Y-12 FCU (Charter 6775; total assets $2B) to acquire First State Bank of the Southeast Inc (FDIC 2710; total assets $415M).
  • Keeping score – the record of announced CU acquisitions of a bank is now at 19 so far for 2024 compared to 11 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019 (source: FedFis).

 

• Bank failure (fraud)…  Late last Friday, The First National Bank of Lindsay, Lindsay, OK (FDIC 4134; total assets $108M; total deposits $97.5M) was closed today by the OCC.  The OCC acted after identifying false and deceptive bank records and other information suggesting fraud that revealed depletion of the bank’s capital. The OCC also found that the bank was in an unsafe or unsound condition to transact business and that the bank’s assets were less than its obligations to its creditors and others.
  • The FDIC resolution includes a purchase and assumption agreement with First Bank & Trust Co. Duncan, Okla., to assume the insured deposits of The First National Bank of Lindsay for a 6.67 percent premium. It will also purchase approximately $20 million of the failed bank’s assets.
    • The FDIC will make 50 percent of uninsured funds available to those depositors on Monday, October 21, 2024. This amount could increase as the FDIC sells the assets of the failed bank. Approximately $7.1 million of the deposits exceeded FDIC insurance limits; this amount is likely to change once the FDIC obtains additional information from customers. 
  • The FDIC preliminarily estimates that the failure will cost its Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) about $43 million.  That’s quite a bit for a $108M bank with $98M in deposits - OUCH!!! 😲  It will be interesting to see what additional information comes out of this soon…

 

• And here we go – 1033 is now final!!!  The CFPB published the much anticipated final rule (affectionately known as the 1033 Open Banking rule).  The 594 page document (HOLY MOLY) offers plenty of reading time… ☹️  Looks like first compliance dates are set to begin in April 2026 and subsequent years following through 2030 depending on the criteria set forth in § 1033.121(c) – found on page 83 for depository institutions (you’re welcome 😊).
  • Banking Dive has a good summary reminding us that banks and credit unions with less than $850M in total assets are exempt, but non-depository entities of any size must comply.
    • Maybe a contrarian viewpoint, but here is some Uncle Sean “Food for Thought” - It will be interesting to see if at some point in the future banks and credit unions under the $850M compliance threshold voluntarily begin to participate in order to remain competitive; and/or does this exacerbate the acquisitions of those smaller banks by larger FI’s that offer open banking… 🤔
  • Not so fast???  Almost immediately, the Bank Policy Institute, the Kentucky Bankers Association, and Forcht Bank filed a joint lawsuit claiming the CFPB is overstepping its authority and asserting the rule would put consumers and the banking system at risk.

 

• Speaking of open banking….  Prism Data announced the launch of CashScore® v4, “a new and more powerful version of its market-leading cash flow underwriting score that helps financial institutions and fintechs more accurately assess creditworthiness” by analyzing consumers' open banking data.
  • Keep in mind that most recently, Nova Credit announced a partnership with SoFi, Plaid announced a partnership with MoneyLion, and Prism Data recently announced it's working with Equifax to make Prism cash flow underwriting solutions and the CashScore broadly available to lenders.  And don’t forget that Mastercard debuted Mastercard Connect Plus to “give consumers control of where, how and with whom their financial data is shared.”
    • Yessir – things are moving quickly in this space…. 🚀

 

• This is great!!!  Fiserv (through the Finxact platform to be precise) delivers embedded finance to DoorDash as part of the DoorDash Crimson Program with the Visa Debit card issued by Fiserv community bank client, Starion Bank (FDIC 33758; total assets $1.9B).  Very nice!!!! 💪

 

• Green Dot Bank (FDIC 22653; total assets $4.6B) has launched Arc by Green Dot representing a comprehensive set of embedded finance / banking-as-a-service (BaaS) capabilities with direct integration to Green Dot Bank.
  • I like it and it sure feels like the industry is headed in this direction as we continue to bring BaaS back to the bank (I love that line) – especially after the middleware meltdown era we have just experienced (TPRM anyone?).  Makes sense when you think about it – especially considering “payments subsidiaries” have been around for a while now (Kotapay, Transfund, Central Payments, etc.).  Is this the next logical step?  I guess time will tell, but there are many examples already in operation:
    • Victor Technologies by MVB, BancFi by Piermont, Avenu by Mainstreet Bank, Maast by Synovus, Bend by FNBO, Newline by Fifth Third, and more…
      • 👉 Want more information (here comes the plug 😊)???  Contact our very own Bobby Button for strategic market intelligence here at FedFis. 🤠

 

• And another example of BaaS and payment subsidiaries…  Kotapay, a division of First International Bank & Trust, announced the launch of Kavinu, a direct-to-bank BaaS platform “designed to eliminates the instability of middleware-reliant BaaS models.”  You know Uncle Sean likes that!!! 😊

 

• Initially covered back in April, Santander has now officially launched Openbank, their direct digital bank, in the US.  Openbank is currently Europe’s largest 100% digital bank by deposits; and will operate in the US as a division of Santander Bank, N.A. (FDIC 29950) which is a $100B bank.  Check them out at Openbank – which is currently sporting a high-yield savings account at 5.25% APY (in select markets only) with many more services set to launch in 2025! 💥

 

• Stripe coughs up a smooth $1.1B (cha-ching) to acquire Bridge, a stablecoin platform.  Per this CNBC article, “Investors familiar with Bridge’s financials said annual revenue is in the range of $10 million to $15 million. At the low end of the range, that’s a multiple of 110 times revenue, and at the high end, it’s a revenue multiple of over 70.”   WHOA!!!💰🤑

 

• LoanPro announced the launch of Smart Verify for rapid identity verification and ongoing monitoring for business and consumer accounts.
  • “LoanPro customers can streamline and simplify their processes for account-disrupting events, such as bankruptcies, deaths, or lawsuits. Without these data tools, a lender trying to comply with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) or Military Lending Act (MLA) would need to either request documentation from their customer or manually search for proof of their enlistment and active-duty status. LoanPro’s SCRA/MLA Verify streamlines this process into a one-click action, offering instant verification that benefits both the borrower and lender.”

 

• ZSuite Technologies teams up with COCC to offer ZSuite’s innovative escrow solutions to bank and credit union clients of COCC.

 

• Atomic announced a new partnership with M1 Finance to provide Atomic’s Direct Deposit Switching (DDS) integration within M1’s Invest and Earn products.

 

• Socure (in the red-hot digital identity verification space) is set to acquire Effectiv, a real-time risk decisioning platform, for $136M.

 

• North Bay Credit Union (Charter 63373; total assets $119M) leans in as a BaaS Sponsor FI by partnering with Braid payments and treasury management platform.

 

• Evolve Bank & Trust (mired in the Synapse middleware bankruptcy disaster 💩) stated that it is preparing to return funds held at Evolve to Synapse Brokerage end users.  Per the article, Evolve will launch an online resource center (https://reconciliationbyevolve.com/).  End users with a balance at Evolve will be asked to select a payment method election on November 4, 2024, and payments will begin shortly thereafter. 
  • Certainly worth noting that many end user funds have been frozen since early May (about 6 months)…

 

• Oof… 😧 The CFPB has ordered  Apple and Goldman Sachs to pay $89M for mishandling customer disputes of Apple Credit Card transactions; AND has banned Goldman Sachs from launching new credit cards unless it can provide an adequate plan to comply with the law.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Obligo (flexible security deposit solution between renters and property managers using open banking protocol) raised $35M in new funding.
  • Zip (global enterprise procure to pay platform) raised $190M in Series D at a $2.2B valuation – WOW!!!
  • Interface.ai (customer automation platform for banks and other financial institutions) raised $30M in capital consisting of $20M in equity round plus $10M in debt financing.
  • Finix (payment processor) raised $75M in Series C funding round.
  • DailyPay (EWA) picked up an additional $100M commitment to its secured credit facility capacity from Citi.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• ⚾ The World Series is set with the Yankees vs. Dodgers. Game 1 will be Friday in L.A on Fox.  Whew - that is about the toughest travel schedule you can get!  This is the 12th time these two iconic teams have met in the championship series.  ESPN has a great summary of this rivalry history dating back to 1941 (remember the Brooklyn Dodgers?).
• You made it!!!!  Here are the Dad / Bad Jokes:
  • Definition of the week….  “Avoidable” – what a matador attempts to do. 🐂🤠
  • PSA – laxatives and sleeping pills should not be taken together! 😬
  • I asked our Head of IT, “how do you make a motherboard?”  He said, “I just start telling her about my job.” 🤓😆
  • Of all the things that taste like chicken, it’s weird that eggs aren’t one of them… 🤔🤷‍♂️
  • Pretty sure we are called grown-ups because we groan every time we get up!  😂🤣

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!!!
 
Uncle Sean
 
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.