Happy Friday!!!
  
Thoughts and prayers 🙏 to all affected by the tragic and devastating floods in the Texas Hill Country over the 4th of July weekend.
 

• “In the darkest moments of destruction and despair, when an overbearing catastrophe weighs down on the soul like an anchor; and the path forward seems mentally and physically unattainable.  When the act of simply existing, just breathing in and out, is painful as our hearts ache at the realization of what has transpired… And thoughts of the children that will remain with us for the rest of our days…  When we are unsure of our own strength to recover, much less move ahead, as the task before us is of a magnitude difficult to comprehend…  It’s those moments that we see the rekindling of the beautiful human spirit – the absolute best of mankind.  A moment of unsung heroes, volunteers, and everyday Americans, the people you see at church, the grocery store, school functions and little league events – all coming together with a unique blend of grit and compassion.  Husbands and Wives, Moms and Dads, Aunts and Uncles, Brothers and Sisters, along with neighbors and complete strangers with open doors and open arms.  A moment where we see each other as one community with a common bond; and embrace each other with kindness, support, love, as well as grace and humility at the same time.  Giving us all hope and strength to move forward, one small step at a time.” ❤️ - Uncle Sean.

 
These folks will be in clean up mode for a long, long time to come.  If you want to help, there are plenty of charitable organizations that you can find with a quick internet search (although, please beware of dirtbag scammers per this FTC Consumer Alert).
 
Happy and proud to report that the FedFis Team has been active locally in supporting the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department (you can donate here if you like - supports both the VFD as well as the community as Comfort is an unincorporated community).  Thank you!
 
 
Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 7/11/25:
 

• PNC Bank (FDIC 6384; total assets $549B) announced the launch of PNC Direct Deposit designed to enable customers to automatically set up direct deposits for payroll, Social Security payments, or other regular income through the PNC Mobile app with just a few quick clicks.
  • 👉  So here’s something cool…  When you go to Set Up Direct Deposit with PNC, you can see the second screenshot “Manage Direct Deposit” where it states at the top, “PNC uses Atomic to power our direct deposit setup experience.”
    • 💥Congrats to my friends at Atomic – what a huge win for the team!!!!  Great work!!!! 🚀

 

• Banks continue to lean into SMB solutions after much success from the fintech market.  This week we see Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC), bank subsidiary is Truist Bank (FDIC 9486; total assets $527B), announce the launch of Truist Merchant Engage (includes the U.S. debut of the Pollinate platform) to unify business banking and merchant services with the goal of simplifying business operations and delivering intelligent real-time insights for their SMB clients.

 

• 👀 Walmart’s OnePay partners with Mastercard for cross-border transfers.  The payment system, powered by Mastercard Move, allows for international transfers reaching recipients “in multiple markets in near real-time” facilitating support for families.  The solution also offers a OnePay card (Mastercard prepaid GPR debit) and digital account, designed for individuals without access to conventional banking.

 

• A pair of JKHY announcements this week:
  • First Mid Bank & Trust, N.A. (FDIC 3705; total assets $ 7.5B) selects Jack Henry for core processing.
  • Triangle Credit Union (charter 68210; total assets $853M) selects Jack Henry's Symitar® platform for core processing as well as Jack Henry LoanVantage™ fully integrated origination experience.

 

• Commonwealth Credit Union in Kentucky (charter 24970; total assets $2.6B) selects Lumin Digital for its digital banking upgrade.

 

• Instacart to launch a new Shoppers Rewards Card debit Mastercard issued by Lead Bank and powered by Branch. 👏

 

• Speaking of Instacart and embedded finance….  Wegmans (grocery chain with more than 100 locations across nine states) announced they are testing out smart carts with technology from two providers, including Instacart’s Caper Carts that let shoppers pay directly from the cart.
  • The Instacart Caper Carts “enable customers to track their spending and check out seamlessly. Caper Carts automatically recognize items as they are dropped into the cart and customers can bag as they shop, tapping signals from an array of Caper Cart cameras, digital scale, and location sensors connected to NVIDIA Jetson hardware. Wegmans customers can login to their Shoppers Club account on the cart's screen in order to shop with a Caper Cart.” 👍

 

• Wawa (convenience store chain of over 1,000 locations) is launching the Wawa Mastercard open loop credit card and rewards within the Wawa app and issued by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO®).

 

• Nymbus announced a new agreement with Bud Financial to launch AI-powered PFM services for banks and CUs. “Nymbus will integrate Bud’s market-leading suite of personal financial management (“PFM”) widgets. These capabilities will be embedded directly into the Nymbus Banking Platform, enhancing the digital banking experience and enabling smarter, more contextual customer engagement.”

 

• Rain announced the launch of their first embedded EWA access solution directly within Workday (Nasdaq: WDAY).
  • The article states, “This partnership follows Rain’s $75 million Series B financing and marks a strategic expansion of its embedded finance capabilities, including its recently announced collaboration with Marqeta.”

 

• Velera announced a partnership to bring ValidiFI's vAccount solution to Velera’s credit unions to optimize the member onboarding and application processes. “Benefits include real-time bank account validation, improved efficiency, enhanced fraud prevention and a seamless experience for end consumers.”

 

• Finastra has divested its Fusion Servicing Director and EZTeller platforms, that support loan servicing and teller operations, to emerging US software provider Core Financial Software.
  • Core Financial Software’s website states it “was formed by the carve out of Servicing Director and EZTeller software solutions from one of the worlds largest Software Fintechs.  We now provide loan servicing and front line teller solutions to over 200+ customers across Banks, Credit Unions and Corporates.”

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • Congratulations to Laurie McLachlan as the new Chief Marketing Officer at Revio Insight per this LinkedIn post. 👏  Some good things happening over at Revio with really great folks!
  • Currency.com bulks up for U.S. expansion by naming Enrico Serafini as US CEO and Dave Ackerman as US COO.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Castellum.AI (financial crime compliance platform with in-house risk data, AML/KYC screening and AI agents) raised $8.5M in Series A funding round to accelerate AI agent and AML / KYC platform adoption.
  • Bilt (rent rewards app) raised $250M in new capital at a $10.75B valuation - WOWZA!!!!  As part of the blog, Bilt also announced their expansion into mortgage through direct partnerships with mortgage servicers; and the launch of Bilt Card 2.0 (coming early 2026), powered by Cardless, in a move away from Wells Fargo.
  • Ambrook (Ag, industrial, and small business accounting software app including Visa Charge Card) raised $29M in funding, including a $26.1M Series A round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• It’s 7/11 Day – so don’t forget to pick up your free Slurpee at 7/11! 😋  BTW – did you know that 7-11 has a banking app?  Check it out the 7-11 Transact Family Card and app.
• 🏆 Congrats to Beatrice Chebet from Kenya as she broke 14 minutes for a new 5000m World Record at 13:58.06 at the Prefontaine Classic.  Watch her incredible last 200 meters here!!! 🔥🏃🏽‍♀️‍➡️
• Alright – it’s time for some Dad / Bad Jokes to hopefully lift some spirits and make folks smile:
  • Sometimes I read a text and think – WOW, what a complete psycho!  And then I press send! 🤪🙃
  • Firetrucks are actually water trucks… 🚒
  • “Spectator” (n) /’spek-tā-tər/ – Mr. and/or Mrs. Potato Head wearing glasses… 🥸😊
  • It was called the Dark Ages…  Because of all the Knights…. 🤔🙄
  • I’m not saying I’m old…  BUT…:
    • I used to wake up feeling like a million bucks; nowadays it’s more like insufficient funds!!! 🤷‍♂️🤠
    • I should probably use WD-40 as my pre-workout!!! 😂
    • Aunt Patty said the older I become, the cheaper I get – but I’m not buying 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.
 

6/27/25 - The Santa Anna National Bank of Santa Anna, TX (FDIC 5520; total assets $76.9M; total deposits $71.4M; equity capital $5M as of the 3/31/25 Call Report), was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) due to “suspected fraud.”  The FDIC stated “as of 6/18/25, The Santa Anna National Bank reported total assets of $63.8 million and total deposits of $53.8 million. Approximately $2.8 million of the deposits exceeded FDIC insurance limits, an amount that is likely to change once the FDIC obtains additional information from customers.”
​Coleman County State Bank (FDIC 15480; total assets $221M as of 3/31/25 Call Report) agreed to assume the insured deposits for a 5.16% premium.

• The FDIC preliminarily estimates that the failure will cost its Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) about $23.7 million.
• Source - FDIC: Coleman County State Bank acquires Insured Deposits of The Santa Anna National Bank.

Additional FedFis insights:

• The FDIC estimated cost to the DIF of $23.7M is extremely large considering $53.8M in total deposits as of 6/18/25 (meaning this fraud was likely very substantial in nature).
• Worth noting that the FDIC decided to post an interim deposit total “as of 6/18/25” as opposed to simply referencing the 3/31/25 call report data (a material decrease of $17.6M, or 25%, of total deposits since the 3/31/25 call report).
• This is the second bank to fail in the nation this year. The last bank failure was Pulaski Savings Bank of Chicago (FDIC 28611) on January 17, 2025 – which was also suspected fraud.

 
 
For more information on FedFis Bank Ratings and market insights, contact the FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected].
 
 
Sean Mayo
Sr. VP, US Financial Institutions Group
[email protected]
 

Happy Friday!!!
 
There will not be an Uncle Sean Update next week as we take some family time to celebrate Independence Day (I LOVE the 4th of July) 🧨🎆🤠!!! But first – there is a lot going on this week, so here is the Uncle Sean Update for 6/27/25:
 

• Pardon me while I completely geek out 🤓 with some macroeconomic data:
  • The third and final estimate of 1st Quarter GDP came in at -0.5%.
    • Real GDP was revised down 0.3 percentage point from the second estimate, primarily reflecting downward revisions to consumer spending and exports that were partly offset by a downward revision to imports.
      
  • Meanwhile, the BEA PCE for May came in at 2.3% (as expected and compared to 2.2% upwardly revised for Apr) with Core PCE at 2.7% (expectation was 2.6% and April was revised up to 2.6%).
    
    • Note that headline PCE last summer was pretty light, so there could be a bit of skew in YoY readings for the next few months.

 

• 👉 Might want to take a second look at that marketing plan targeting Gen Alpha…  The U.S. Census Bureau is reporting the U.S. population age 65 and older rose by 3.1% (to 61.2 million) while the population under age 18 decreased by 0.2% (to 73.1 million).  Adding to a continuing and growing statistic, older adults now outnumber children in 11 states and nearly half of all U.S. counties.  So here’s to the white hair / no hair club still rockin’ it!!! 🤘

 

• 👀 Definitely keeping an eye on this…  TransUnion is reporting that approximately six million student loan borrowers are 90 days+ past due (31%) as of April 2025.  That 31% 90+ DPD is up from 20.5% in February 2025; and is nearly triple the 11.7% from Feb 2020 (pre-pandemic).
  • TransUnion also estimates that “approximately 1.8 million, could reach default status in July 2025. An additional one million of the 5.8 million total are estimated to reach default status in August 2025, followed by two million more in September 2025.”  Default status can result in wage garnishments and forfeiture of income tax refunds and certain government benefits.

 

• 💥 Whoa Nelly!  Look at the increase in M&A activity this week:
  • Acorns acquires Zeta and marks Acorn’s fifth acquisition in less than two years.
  • Xero acquires Melio SMB bill pay platform for $2.5B in cash and equity consideration.
  • Envestnet, Inc. to sell Yodlee, Inc. to STG.  Originally purchased by Envestnet in 2015 for $590M, but was subsequently written-down by almost half by 2024.
  • Capchase acquires Vartana in the B2B vendor finance space.

 

• And check out the bank deals this week 😲 as the flood gates open up (source - FedFis Bank M&A):
  • Maverick Bancshares, Inc. (FR 5725997), bank subsidiary is Maverick Bank (FDIC 17446; total assets $334M), to acquire Sandhills Bancshares, Inc. (FR 3951998), bank subsidiary is Tejas Bank (FDIC 18216; total assets $224M).
    
  • Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: GBCI; FR 2003975), bank sub is Glacier Bank (FDIC 30788; total assets $27.8B), to acquire Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE: GNTY; FR 1862036), bank sub is Guaranty Bank & Trust, N.A. (FDIC 1208; total assets $1.2B) in an all-stock transaction valued at $476.2M.
    
  • First Financial Bancorp (FR 1071276), bank sub is First Financial Bank (FDIC 6600; total assets $18.3B), to acquire Westfield Bancorp (FR 3828661), bank sub is Westfield Bank, FSB (FDIC 57077; total assets $2.1B) in a mixed deal of 80% cash and 20% stock with a transaction value of $325M. 
    
  • Newly formed One America Bancorp Inc. to acquire Hopeton Bancshares, Inc. (FR 1992661), bank sub is The Hopeton State Bank (FDIC 12585; total assets $26.5M).
    
  • Rhineland Bancshares, Inc. (FR 4902906), bank sub is Peoples Savings Bank of Rhineland (FDIC 15264; total assets $679M), to acquire Green City Bancshares Inc. (FR 1061165), bank sub is farmbank (FDIC 16103; total assets $78M).

• Nissan submits application to form Nissan Bank U.S., LLC, an ILC bank headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • 🤔 Nissan joins other automobile companies including Stellantis (Dodge), GM, and Ford who all have pending ILC applications out.

 

• CoastalSouth Bancshares Inc. (FR 3274727), bank subsidiary is Coastal States Bank (FDIC 57756; total assets $2.2B), announced the launch of its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “COSO” with plans to raise approximately $58.5 million.

 

• Wealthfront confidentially filed for a US initial public offering stating the IPO is anticipated after the SEC's review, contingent on market conditions (number of shares and price range for the offering remain undetermined).

 

• 🚀 Things are once again moving at light speed in the crypto and stablecoin world:
  • Fiserv (NYSE: FI) to launch new FIUSD stablecoin for financial institutions…
    • Fiserv is building the platform, which’ll live on the Solana blockchain, with help from blockchain infrastructure company Paxos and stablecoin platform Circle. Fiserv plans to make the platform compatible with other tokens, too, like PayPal’s PayUSD.
    • The stablecoin is planned to go live by year-end and will be integrated across Fiserv’s network of “10,000 financial institution clients and six million merchant locations processing 90 billion transactions annually…” WOW!!!
      
  • Kraken announced the launch of launch of Krak app (yes, that name “Kraks” me up 🤠), an all-in-one global money app built from the ground up on crypto infrastructure.
    • Instantly send 300+ crypto tokens, stablecoins and fiat currencies to friends and family (P2P) in more than 160 countries (Venmo and Zelle only support payments between US users) using Kraktags (their version of a payment handle).
    • 👉 Coming soon – physical and virtual Krak cards per their blog.
      • Okay – I’m still laughing at the whole “Krak” thing – I love it!!!! 😊
  • Coinbase launched a stablecoin payments stack to make it easier for online merchants around the world to accept USDC; and is already live with Shopify.
  • SoFi announced new global remittance service as well as crypto investing coming later this year.
    • “…SoFi members later this year will be able to buy, sell, and hold a selection of crypto currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Over time, SoFi intends to offer stablecoins and a wide range of other services, such as providing members the ability to borrow against their crypto assets, expanding payment options, and introducing new staking features, as well as blockchain and digital asset infrastructure capabilities for other companies offered by Galileo, SoFi’s technology platform.” (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean)

 

• I.H. Mississippi Valley Credit Union (charter 60337; total assets $2.2B) launches BNPL to its digital banking lineup powered by equipifi.
  • I think this marks equipifi’s 3rd CU deal this month (following Vantage West and Sunward).  Nice work!!! 🤙

 

• FedNow raised the transaction limit for real-time payments from $500K to $1M (equivalent to RTP and same day ACH); and added new security features, enabling financial firms to limit the dollar amount and transaction speed depending on the customer segment.

 

• Coastal Credit Union (charter 18297; total assets $5.7B) selects Lumin Digital as its new digital banking provider.

 

• Nova Credit partners with Imprint allowing Imprint to integrate Nova Credit's Cash Atlas™ solution into its underwriting capabilities via Alloy's identity and fraud prevention platform.

 

• Finastra announced a series of strategic executive hires this week, including:
  • Don Baptiste as Chief Operating Officer
  • Shirley Powell as Head of Strategic Communications
  • Mike Stawchansky as Chief Technology Officer expanding on his existing role

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Spinwheel (API-enabled and agentic AI-based consumer debt management platform) raised $30M in Series A funding round.
  • Quinn (AI-powered financial planning and wealth advisory available as an embedded, co-branded or fully white-labeled experience for financial institutions) raised $11M Seed round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🏀 Congrats to the Oklahoma City Thunder for their first NBA Championship!  The series with the Indiana Pacers was nothing short of amazing.  I was sad to see Tyrese Haliburton go down with a torn Achilles tendon in the first quarter of game 7 – but I was happy to see the sportsmanship and respect when OKC MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to Indy's locker room to check on Haliburton after the game was over. 👍
• Okay – let’s get to the good stuff so we can kick off the weekend!!!  Here are the Dad / Bad jokes:
  • I ate the entire box of Slim Fast bars…  I can’t wait to see how skinny I’ll be when I wake up tomorrow!!!! 💪
  • Why do vampires get booed off stage???  Because they suck! 🧛‍♂️🦇🤣
  • That awkward moment when you’re running…  And your boobs are bouncing all over the place…  And you’re a 55 year old guy!!! 🏃‍♂️‍➡️🤠
  • Someone needs to invent an alarm clock that sounds like a dog about to throw up because nothing will get you out of bed faster than that!!! 🐶😅

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and a wonderful 4th of July Holiday next week; 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!!!
 
Welcoming in the first day of summer 🌴🏖️ as today is the Summer Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere! ☀️  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 6/20/25:
 

• It’s Fed Week!  And as expected, the FOMC unanimously decided to keep the target range for the Fed Funds rate at 4.25% - 4.5% and to continue reducing the size of the balance sheet.  More detail below if you want it:
  • Here is the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP is forecast estimates and NOT policy) that show plenty of changes from March, such as lower GDP growth by 0.3%, higher inflation by 0.3%, and higher unemployment by 0.1% (similar movements from Dec to March SEP). Perhaps the most telling piece was the actual dot plot distribution for the midpoint of fed funds rate (page 9; figure 3.E of the SEP), while declining, is wider and higher than March reflecting wider uncertainty amongst FOMC committee members.  I know… Shocking, right (sarcasm)??? LOL 🤠
  • Here is Chairman Powell’s press conference video (51:30), and unofficial transcript.  Some key points that I picked up on from Chairman Powell’s press conference:
    • Consistent with the theme of the past Fed meetings, we're still in a data-dependent "wait and see" mode.
    • Related to longer run SEP - "No one holds these rate paths with a great deal of conviction."  This was reiterated a couple of times.
    • Powell acknowledged that uncertainty surrounding tariffs has “diminished, but remains elevated.”

 

• Not gonna lie one bit – Uncle Sean loves this!!!  Vantage Bank Texas (FDIC 3405; total assets $4.4B) announced a partnership with Infinant to leverage the Infinant Interlace platform to power Vantage Bank’s new embedded banking line of business, Vantage Collabs. 💥 Looking forward to more from Vantage Collabs!!!
  • 👀 Uncle Sean is seeing a lot of traction with the Infinant platform – be sure to check it out here at https://www.infinant.com/platform/.

 

• Fiserv collaborates with Early Warning Services to offer the digital wallet Paze direct to financial institutions – guessing that Fiserv MALBP special purpose charter (for processing card-based payment transactions) is paying off as a competitive advantage. 😊

 

• Happy to see OMNICOMMANDER making headlines again this week as they announced a new partnership with Tyfone’s digital banking offering enabling Tyfone FI clients to easily access OMNICOMMANDER’s comprehensive digital marketing platform via their unified ecosystem. 🚀

 

• Autobooks announced the launch of Autobooks Capital, powered by Fundbox, enabling short-term funding for small business customers.
  • 👉 “Because Autobooks Capital is embedded directly within digital banking, small business owners can apply for and access funds without ever leaving their banking app. This direct-to-account experience simplifies cash flow management and reinforces the financial institution’s position as the primary operating hub for small businesses.”  Bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean.

 

• This week’s performance flex 💪 goes out to HC3 (which is also a recently Endorsed Service Provider of The Independent Bankers Association of Texas)!!!  HC3 (a fully customizable statement partner for FI’s) continues its strong growth through the first half of 2025 following up on its record-breaking 2024 performance with “profitability growth of more than 42%.” 
  • “FI’s partnering with HC3 have also reported significant operational improvements, including streamlined processes, reduced manual workloads, and enhanced customer experiences through professional, consistent statement designs across all delivery channels.”
  • “Unlike providers that offer limited layout options, HC3 works with each financial institution to create unique, branded statement designs that reflect their brand and marketing objectives.”
    • Very nice!!! 😊

 

• Pinwheel expands its partnership with Jack Henry digital banking platform to include its Switch Kit and Bill Navigator products.  This expands on its direct deposit switch solution available to Banno customers since 2024.
  • Note that Switch Kit is a combination of Direct Deposit Switch and Bill Switch.  Bill Navigator can “identify trial subscriptions and their cancellation timelines, proactively notify consumers of upcoming trial expiration dates, and offer consumers the ability to cancel with one click from within a bank's app.”

 

• State Employees CU of Maryland, Inc (SECU; charter 66330; total assets $5.6B) selects MANTL to enhance its in-branch and online account opening processes for businesses and retail members.
  • SECU already partners with Alkami (who acquired MANTL earlier this year) for online and mobile.

 

• Speaking of…  MANTL announced integration with the Fiserv AppMarket enabling banks and credit unions operating on Fiserv cores to launch deposit origination technology significantly faster, “while reducing integration costs by nearly 50%.” 👏

 

• Glendale Area Schools Credit Union (charter 97101; total assets $437M) is now live with Mahalo Banking for online and mobile banking in conjunction with their recent core upgrade to Corelation Keystone.

 

• Column N.A. (FDIC 58224; total assets $786M) and Best Egg announced a new lending partnership where Column will serve as a sponsor bank partner for Best Egg’s secured and unsecured personal loans.

 

• The Bank of Glen Burnie (FDIC 16820; total assets $358M) partners with CorServ to launch a credit card issuing program for their commercial and consumer customers.
  • Jonathan Shearin, Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at The Bank of Glen Burnie stated, “CorServ’s credit card program has key features like spend controls and virtual cards coupled with high-quality customer service. With CorServ’s solution, we can better service our local customers and retain more control over our issuing program, unlike with an Agent Bank credit card program.” 👍

 

• With the current administration pushing for regulatory framework related to issuers of stablecoins by August, the Senate passed the GENIUS act and now heads to the House which has its own version called the STABLE act (so a high likelihood that some version of the two will become law).  Credit to Nik Milanović and the team at This Week in Fintech for providing this excellent overview of the GENIUS Act and STABLE Act as prepared by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (DavisPolk – note disclosures that this document is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice 😊).

 

• 👀 Meanwhile, the DOJ seized more than $225.3M in cryptocurrency this week linked to “cryptocurrency confidence scams” (also known as “pig butchering” scams) that were part of a sophisticated blockchain-based money laundering network where the organized crime ring allegedly linked to an international human-trafficking syndicate (2:07 mark in this DOJ Video) that was ultimately linked back to foreign actors in multiple compounds in Southeast Asia.
  • Notably, one of the victims was Shan Hanes, former CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank in Elkhart, Kansas who embezzled bank funds to cover (source page 29, paragraphs 85 – 87 of the Complaint for Forfeiture) – ultimately causing the bank to fail.

 

• Some key personnel moves:
  • DCI announced the hiring of Julie Carter as Vice President of Customer Service.
  • Synctera hires former Federal Reserve and OCC examiner Deb Bonosconi as Chief Risk and Compliance Officer (CRCO).
  • R&T Deposit Solutions names Theo Curey as President.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Ramp (corporate card and spend management platform) raised $200M in Series E funding round at a massive $16B valuation.
  • Payabli (embedded payments) raised $28M in Series B round.
  • Clockout (embedded Earned Wage Access (EWA) solutions for banks and credit unions) raised a $2M Seed Round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🏀 WOWZA!!!  The Indiana Pacers handed the Oklahoma City Thunder an old-fashioned beatdown in Game 6 of the NBA finals with a 36-9 run that put the game way out of reach by the 4th quarter.  This sets up an epic Game 7 on Sunday night in Oklahoma City at 7PM CDT (Uncle Sean is still pulling for OKC).  How epic???  Well, the NBA Championship series hasn’t gone to a Game 7 match in 9 years; and there have only been 8 in the last 50 years!!! 😮🏆
• Alright – let’s wrap this up so I can play hooky this afternoon (don’t tell my Boss – LOL)!!!  Here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • What’s the difference between a well-dressed man on a bicycle and a poorly-dressed man on a unicycle…?  Attire… 🛞🤠
  • I have come to the conclusion that after the age of 50, there’s no way to get out of a pool float with your dignity intact! 🤷‍♂️😅
  • Reverse psychology is when you make your therapist cry!!!! 🙃🤪
  • And my favorite….  I am taking my box of wine back and filing a complaint.  It said good for 6 weeks once opened, but it only lasted about 4 hours!!! 🍷😂🤣

 
 
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 the 13th 😬!!!
 
Hey, hey, hey – it’s Happy Father’s Day weekend 🙏 to all the Dad’s out there getting it done week after week, month after month, and decade after decade 💪♥️!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 6/13/25:
 

• In a bit of good news (hey – I’ll take it), consumer prices (while still increasing) actually came in a little less than expected.  The BLS May CPI Report came in at 0.1% for the month putting the annual rate at 2.4% (last month was 0.2% and 2.3%, estimate was 0.2% and 2.4%) with Core CPI at 0.1% and 2.8% (estimate was 0.3% and 2.9%).  CNBC has a good summary ahead of the FOMC meeting next week.

 

• 👉 UFS announced they have acquired Quest Analytics.  “With the combination of Quest Analytics and UFS’s leading technology and best-in-class service delivery organization, banks now have a single partner to power their entire customer engagement and banking operations platform. Offered through nine flexible modules, Quest Analytics provides a complete suite of customer success solutions including marketing, lead generation, prospecting, cross-selling, servicing, customer profitability, data analytics, and much more.”  Nice combination!!! 👏

 

• 👀 Yessir – Uncle Sean is watching Kotapay’s Kavinu bank-direct BaaS platform (a bank-first approach to embedded payments), a division of First International Bank & Trust (FIBT; FDIC 10248; total assets $5.5B), as FIBT named service bank for Raisin’s global savings and investment platform.
  • Peter Stenehjem, CEO of FIBT, added, “We’ve been a proud partner since June 2024 and are excited to see our Kavinu platform come to life as Raisin’s new service bank. By reclaiming embedded payments from fractured middleware models, we're ensuring financial innovators like Raisin have the stability, efficiency, and speed they need for long term success.” (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean)  Love this!!!! 😊

 

• WaveCX (personalized, digital product engagement solutions for FI’s) announced a partnership with CSI with full implementation coming Fall 2025.   By integrating with CSI NuPoint® and Meridian® core platforms, CSI clients can access the WaveCX platform to increase customer engagement within digital banking channels.

 

• Pretty sure everyone saw this one coming as It was just a matter of time after the Capital One breakup…  OnePay (Walmart’s fintech arm) and Synchrony to launch a new credit card program this fall with the credit card experience embedded inside the OnePay app.  The card offering includes two options: a general-purpose (open-loop) credit card that can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted and a store card (closed-loop) that will only allow Walmart purchases.

 

• Cross River Bank (FDIC 58410; total assets $8.5B) announced the launch of Request for Payment (RfP) on the Real-Time Payments (RTP)® network.  Plaid will be the first to implement RfP (through its bank payments platform, Plaid Transfer) to power instant car purchases for Carvana customers.

 

• Velera adds real-time account validation (for both personal and business accounts) to its suite of digital channels, enabling Velera credit unions to process payments across the ACH network in real time.
  • “This will enable credit unions to immediately confirm account status and ownership by eliminating the traditional five-day wait period when a new account is added or updated, significantly reducing the time between account setup and transaction initiation to provide a more seamless member experience.”

 

• Shout-out to Arise Community Credit Union set to officially launch on Juneteenth as Minnesota’s first Black-led community credit union!
  • Be sure to visit the Arise booth at the Juneteenth Family Celebration at the Minnesota State Capitol on Saturday, June 21, 2025, from 12 PM to 6 PM.

 

• Treasury Prime announced that People Trust Community FCU (charter 24940; total assets $2.6M) has joined the Treasury Prime Bank Network as Treasury Prime’s first credit union partner.

 

• Plaid leverages their market presence and launched Plaid Protect to proactively identify suspicious activity using machine earning. 
  • “A real-time fraud intelligence system that helps detect and prevent fraud from the moment a user first interacts with your app or service. By drawing on fraud signals across a billion devices in the Plaid network, Protect goes beyond what any single company can see – surfacing fraud patterns that exist between linked bank accounts, connections to financial apps and services and more.” 👍

 

• Affirm (BNPL) gets the flex award 💪 this week as they have reached 2 million debit cards issued, an increase of about 600,000 cards (or 43%) since January! 💥

 

• 🪙 A new bitcoin rewards card coming soon…  Check out the Coinbase One Card with up to 4% bitcoin rewards (coming Fall 2025) – an American Express credit card issued by First Electronic Bank and powered by Cardless.

 

• Congrats to Chime as CHYM shares peaked at $45 and closed at $37 in their first day of trading yesterday, finishing well above their initial public offering (IPO) price of $27, resulting in a market cap of $13.5B at the close. 💰

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • Travillian hires Amber Buker as its first-ever Chief Research Officer.
  • ACI Worldwide appointed Robert (“Bobby”) Leibrock as Chief Financial Officer effective July 1, 2025.
  • Imprint hires Will Larson as its new Chief Technology Officer.
  • Better hires Leah Price as Vice President to lead its Tinman™ AI Platform.
  • Corpay names Peter Walker as Chief Financial Officer effective July 21, 2025.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Parlay Finance (AI-powered loan intelligence system) raised $2M Seed round.
  • GrailPay (ML risk analytics infrastructure for ACH) raised $6.7M in Seed round.
  • Piston (cardless payments platform for fleets and gas stations) raised $6.1M in Seed round.
  • Congratulations to Vine Financial (AI-powered commercial loan platform; and a Bankers Helping Bankers Fund company) as they have secured Seed Funding and finalized its Board of Directors - check out the impressive team of industry investors and the BoD.  Good things are happening at Vine Financial!!! 🚀

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Ah - Father’s Day!!!  Looking forward to backyard grilling, ample family time, and maybe even some key lime pie this weekend!!!! 😊 😋
• 🏀 The Indiana Pacers continue to give the OKC Thunder all they want as they now lead the series 2-1 despite their underdog status coming into the series.  Game 4 of the NBA Finals is tonight at 7:30 CDT.
• And here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • I love board games.  My favorite is the one where people put meat and cheese on a board, maybe some fruit and crackers, and definitely some wine…  I win every time!!! 🤠
  • At my age, running is a great way to meet new people.  Today I met two EMTs, three nurses, and a cardiologist!!! 🏃‍♂️‍➡️😅
  • Very few things upset my wife, so it makes me feel very special to be one of them! 🏆😉
  • Looking back at all the successes and failures in my life, I can’t help but be proud that at least the potty training thing has stuck!!! 😂🤣

 
 
Have a GREAT Father’s Day 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!!!
 
Don’t forget that Father’s Day is fast approaching (Sunday, June 15th) – If anyone asks, I wear a size two-week vacation 🤠!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 6/6/25:
 

• The BLS issued the May Jobs Report showing +139K new jobs added (Dow Jones estimate was +125K) compared to a downwardly revised +147K in April (note that March and April were both revised down by 65K and 30K respectively - full revision history can be found here).  Unemployment rate was unchanged a 4.2% in line with estimates (and consistently ranging between 4.0% and 4.2% since May 2024).  Average hourly earnings came in at 3.9% over last year (estimate was 3.7%) and continues to outpace inflation.  CNBC has a good summary.
  • Keep in mind the next FOMC meeting is scheduled for June 17-18 (less than two weeks away) and will include the always enlightening Summary of Economic Projections (i.e. Dot Plot).

 

• 👉 Virtual high five’s all around as Bankers Helping Bankers welcomes Bankers’ Bank of Kansas as a Friends of BHB Sponsor!!!! 👏
  • As a correspondent bank built to serve community banks exclusively, “Bankers’ Bank of Kansas is more than a service provider — they’re a true advocate for community banking,” said Matthew Smith, CEO of Bankers Helping Bankers. “They share our deep belief in the power of community banks to lead, serve, and innovate — and we’re proud to be walking this path together.” 🎉

 

• Klarna announced they are piloting a new physical debit card in the US, dubbed the Klarna Card, as it looks to diversify its business beyond short-term credit products ahead of their pending IPO.  The Klarna Card is powered by Visa Flexible Credential that lets users chose from multiple payment options (like debit, credit and BNPL) from a single payment card.  It’s a debit card by default, but users can also toggle to one of Klarna’s “pay later” products, including “Pay in 4″ and “Pay in 30 Days.”
  • The Klarna Card physical debit card is issued by WebBank.

 

• Hmmm – a bit of different spin on open banking (“permissioned” anyway)…  Experian and Plaid have teamed up to provide cashflow based credit decisioning to help lenders assess risk more accurately, expand access to credit and deliver better outcomes for consumers.

 

• Apiture announced the launch of Fintech Connector to enable fintech partners to rapidly integrate their solutions with the Apiture Digital Banking Platform, without the need for custom integrations.

 

• Well, well, Wells Fargo (see what I did there) gets a bit of a reprieve as the Fed removes the asset growth restriction the bank has been operating under since 2018.  Banking Dive has a good summary article for more info.

 

• Karat Financial expands beyond its Visa credit card for creators by launching additional business banking solutions, powered by Grasshopper Bank (FDIC 59113), broken down into two tiers:
  • First is a free version consisting of a business checking account with automated tax planning (as most “creators” are independent contractors requiring quarterly estimated tax payments); second is their premium offering that costs $20 per month or requires a $35,000 minimum balance, but provides 2% to 3% APY on checking accounts, free wires, and enhanced customer support, with AI bookkeeping coming soon.

 

• The Citizens Bank of Edmond (FDIC 4084; total assets $413M) expands its digital offerings by partnering with InvestiFi to integrate securities trading, including stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrency options, and guided investing solutions directly into its current online and mobile banking platforms.  Nice! 😊

 

• Save partners with Customers Bank (FDIC 34444; total assets $22.4B) to launch its Market Savings Sub-advisory Program, a unique investment-driven FDIC insured deposit program designed for RIA’s. “The program uniquely combines deposit accounts provided by Customers Bank with a market-based yield enhancement strategy managed by Save Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser.”

 

• Peach State Federal Credit Union (charter 14676; total assets $1.1B) has selected Velera for credit and debit processing.  Velera will begin providing PSFCU credit card processing support in August 2025 and add debit the following month. 

 

• Frontier Credit Union (charter 68376, total assets $698M) has selected Lumin Digital for online and mobile Lumin Digital for online and mobile upgrade.
  • If Frontier CU sounds familiar, it’s because they announced they were acquiring First Citizens Bank of Butte at the beginning of May.

 

• Sunward Federal Credit Union (charter 5851; total assets $4.25B) announced they have added Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) to its suite of online banking products, powered by equipifi.

 

• Some personnel movements:
  • Congratulations to Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman with her confirmation as the Fed's Vice Chair of Supervision.
  • Tradeweb appointed Sherry Marcus as Head of AI.
  • Blend names Reva Rao as Head of Digital Transformation for Credit Unions.
  • Congratulations to Cinda McGinnis at Bedel Security for her recent promotion to VP Chief Administrative Officer.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Oatfi (embedded financing infrastructure for B2B payment platforms) raised $24M in Series A funding round.
  • Kiwi (AI-Driven credit platform for latino communities in the U.S.) raised $7.8M in Series A round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• On a bit of a personal note, If you are fortunate enough to still have aging parents and / or in-laws that need help with transportation (we are working though some of these issues with Aunt Patty’s parents; and it will happen to all of us eventually) – these two technology expansion programs are certainly worth looking into…  Check out the recently launched Uber Senior Accounts as part of the Uber Family Profile – allows shared family members and / or caregivers to book rides and track movements if needed.  This follows Lyft’s successful launch of Lyft Silver which also includes more accessible vehicles for our seniors.  Both solutions allow for a more simplified app, saved destinations, multiple payment options, and real-time updates for shared family members (who can all help and assist even if they are hours away).  Now, convincing our aging family members to actually use the service is a completely different matter - LOL! 😊 Nonetheless, I am super happy to see technology applications assisting with the quality of life, independence, and service for our elder population that they so much deserve. ❤️
• 🏀 HOLY SMOKES!!!!  Congrats to the Indiana Pacers for their Game 1 victory of the NBA Finals over the Oklahoma City Thunder.  That buzzer beater basket by Tyrese “hold my beer” Haliburton with 0.3 seconds left was the first time Indiana led the entire game – amazing!!!!  Whoever wins out in the seven game championship series will celebrate their first-ever franchise NBA Championship!!!  Now that’s cool!!!
• And here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • According to a scientific study…  Fertility appears to be hereditary.  For instance, if your parents didn’t have children, chances are you won’t either!!! 😉😅
  • Internet recipes should include photos of the mess you’re going to have to clean up after cooking! 🤐🙃
  • If attacked by a group of clowns, remember to always go for the juggler! 🤡
  • Attempted to exercise this morning…  Didn’t work out… 😎
  • The salesman at the boat center said, “this particular boat will fit 5 people without any problems.”  I replied, “Dude - I don’t even know 5 people without any problems!”  😂🤣

 
 
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 fantastic Memorial Day!!!  Don’t forget that you can sign up here to get the Uncle Sean Update sent straight to your inbox each week along with 18,000+ of your peers!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 5/30/25:
 

• ICYMI - 🎉 CSI named Nancy Langer as their new President and CEO succeeding David Culbertson, who will transition to the role of vice chair of the board and will work closely with Langer throughout the leadership transition.  Congratulations to all including Mr. Culbertson who has had an amazing 36 year career at CSI!!! 👏

 

• 💥 Shout out to my friends at Atomic as Galileo debuts 'Payment Switch' by Atomic for easier Bill Pay.  This is in addition to Atomic’s existing partnership with Galileo for Direct Deposit Switching (back in Dec 2022). 👍

 

• The FDIC released Quarterly Banking Profile report for 1Q2025…  A few key points:
  • It was a good quarter for banks as Net Income increased 5.8% from the prior quarter, driven by higher noninterest income (even though NIM decreased slightly).
  • Provision expense increased 9.1% over last year as the industry continues to build reserves.
  • Asset quality remains generally favorable with past-due and nonaccrual (PDNA) at 1.50% of total loans (below the pre-pandemic average of 1.94%).
  • Unrealized losses on securities decreased both quarterly and annually as Treasury rates decreased in the first quarter (HOWEVER - this trend has reversed substantially thus far for 2Q2025).
    • Of course if you follow our BHB Inside The Numbers quarterly webinar (a macro look at the early release of call report data and economic indicators) brought to you by our Bankers Helping Bankers sponsors, you already knew all of this… 😊
  • The number of “Problem Banks” decreased from 66 to 63 representing 1.4% of total banks in the first quarter (which is in the middle of the normal range for non-crisis periods of 1 – 2% of all banks).
    • For comparison sake (and a bit of bragging I might add 😊), our FedFis Rating© is tracking 66 banks in the lowest 1% scoring 3.92 or higher (on a 1.00 – 5.00 scale with 1.00 being best).

 

• Another CU acquisition of a bank…  Avenir Financial Federal Credit Union (charter 4915; total assets $382M) to acquire in-state peer Mission Bank (FDIC 57137; total assets $194M).
  • This is now the 7th announced CU acquisition of a bank for 2025 (whole-bank acquisition of a charter, not just branch purchase).  This compares to 22 for 2024, 11 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019. Source: FedFis Bank M&A data.

 

• American Express is sunsetting its Bluebird Prepaid Debit Account program.  New cards are not being issued and the platform will be closed effective June 2026.  Thus ending a 15-year endeavor that began in 2012 as a partnership with Walmart after a 2011 pilot…
  • 👉 Memory lane (or is it…???).  From the 2012 launch PR (tell me if any of this sounds familiar almost 13 years later - LOL) – “Bluebird was shaped by feedback from consumers who said they were not getting the value they expect from traditional checking account and debit services because of increasingly higher fees.”
    • “The financial services landscape is changing. Technological advances, regulatory changes, and evolving consumer needs are redefining payments ranging from prepaid, to checking and debit.  Bluebird is our solution to help consumers who currently may be poorly served by traditional banking products. It allows them to easily and safely move, manage, and spend their money.  In an era where it is increasingly “expensive to be poor,” we have worked with Walmart to create a financial services product that rights many of the wrongs that plague the market today,” said Dan Schulman, group president, Enterprise Growth, American Express.
      • Insert Talking Heads song here – “Once in a Lifetime (same as it ever was)”. 🤠

 

• Apple Federal Credit Union (charter 11307; total assets $5.2B) partners with equipifi to launch the CU’s own BNPL solution branded as PayAdvantage, allowing members to split the payments on eligible debit card transactions over time.  That’s a big CU and a nice win for the equipifi Team! 🚀

 

• Mambu announced the launch of Mambu Payments, following its acquisition of payments technology provider Numeral in Dec 2024.
  • Mambu Payments infrastructure solution provides FI’s “with advanced, composable capabilities that integrate seamlessly into any core banking ecosystem. Acting as a universal gateway, it connects institutions to a growing network of pre-integrated clearing systems, partner banks, and payment schemes, while enabling end-to-end automation through a modern payments hub.”

 

• Meanwhile, Visa had a couple of key announcements last week:
  • Visa announced the “general availability” of Visa AR Manager in the US - designed to grow and maintain existing card volume by automating the virtual card transaction process, addressing a significant pain point for suppliers accepting commercial credentials.
  • Visa also announced the launch of Visa Commercial Integrated Partners to empower fintech and FI’s – “designed to improve connectivity between fintechs and Visa Commercial products through its commercial platform. Visa will make available advanced APIs to embed Visa products in a business partners’ applications and make these integrations available to its financial institution clients, allowing them to offer new, seamless payment experiences to their business customers.”

 

• 💪 Openbank (Santander’s direct digital bank) continues to flex by stating Openbank has amassed 100,000 customers and more than $4B in deposits (yep, $4 Billion with a “B” 💰💰💰 HOLY SMOKES!!!) as of May 2025 in the US since launching about six months ago late in 2024!!!

 

• Capital Bank, National Association (FDIC 35278; total assets $3.3B) partners with Q2 to upgrade its new digital banking platform.  Per the PR, the upgrade is designed to deliver a secure, modern experience for business customers (including advanced digital treasury management capabilities) and marks a major step in the Bank’s ongoing digital evolution.

 

• Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) to divest their payroll business, Heartland Payroll Solutions, to Acrisure for $1.1B as they continue to simplify their business focus as a pure-play payments processor.
  • “Founded in 1997, Heartland Payroll caters to more than 50,000 clients including Burger King, and will be rebranded after the deal closes — expected in the second half of 2025.”

 

• Circle, the largest U.S. issuer of stablecoins, announced their IPO of 24M shares at $24-$26 per share, and plans to list on the NYSE (CRCL).

 

• 👀 OMNICOMMANDER continues to innovate in the bank digital marketing arena making it easier for “the rest of us” (definitely me) to look like marketing and content heroes!!!  This week they announce the launch of OMNIPLAY digital display software to enable bankers to take full control of their “in-branch display” messaging and marketing .  It allows for cloud-based control from any location utilizing a drag-and-drop interface (with no tech skills needed) featuring real-time content updates across one or multiple branches.
  • This is in addition to their existing digital marketing arsenal that includes CHATCOMMANDER™,  CARCOMMANDER™, and custom video production (how about upgrading your annual reports to video – that’s cool!!!). 
    • Check them out at https://www.omnicommander.com/; and tell them Uncle Sean sent you!.  Did I mention they are veteran-owned and operated? 😊 🤙

 

• Oof 😬…  We’ve all seen this coming over the last several weeks, but it’s formal now…  The CFPB has officially determined that the 2024 rule authorizing "open banking" to be unlawful and plans to vacate the rule…  Quite the rug pull for those that have put a lot of time and effort into this based on the initial proposed ruling…

 

• Notable recent FinTech funding:
  • Airwallex (global payments and financial platform for businesses) raised $300M in capital consisting of a $150M Series F plus another $150M in secondary share transfers at a whopping $6.2B valuation.
  • Slash (business banking app) raised $41M in Series B at a $370M valuation.
  • Clair (EWA platform) raised $23.2M in Series B round.
  • Affiniti (SMB expense-management credit cards, software, and business analytics platform) raised $17M in Series A just 6 months after an $11M seed round; and noted a 10x revenue growth over the last year.
  • Monarch (PFM app) raised $75M in Series B funding round at an $850M valuation.
  • Palla (embedded real-time international payments platform for FI’s and fintech firms) raised $14.5M Series A round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Aunt Patty and I were fortunate enough to go on a fishing trip over Memorial Day weekend on the mighty Mississippi River (Vicksburg, MS area).  That river is both majestic and terrifying with an incredible flow rate being almost at flood stage – quite the difference from a few years ago when we were in drought conditions and worried about shipping transit through that area!  Beautiful scenery and a “boat load” of fun!!!
• The end is near – for the penny anyway LOL!!!  The US Mint has made its final order of penny blanks and will stop producing them when that supply runs out (projected to be in 2026).  Pennies will still be legal tender with more than 100 billion estimated to be in circulation - so don’t worry….  You can still get a penny for your thoughts; but you might have to accept payment digitally to avoid having to make correct change. 😊
• Foodie alert (nom, nom, nom) - Kinder’s has a couple of BBQ sauces / glazes that I have fallen in love with recently.  Their Spicy Teriyaki with Red Jalapeno & Ginger is a hands down winner on pulled chicken; and their Black Cherry Chipotle BBQ sauce matches superbly with baked pork loin!   
  • And here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
    • The part of your brain that decides what sandwich to eat is called your… subconscious… 🤔😏
    • I don’t mean to brag too much, but I have a flat stomach…  It’s just that the “L” is silent..!! 🤠
    • Saving the best for last…   I told my mother-in-law that WTF stands for “Wow, That’s Fantastic.”  Her text messages are so much more entertaining now! 😂🤣

 
 
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!!!
 
Just a heads-up that there won’t be an Uncle Sean Update next week as we take some time off to celebrate and honor our Memorial Day heroes that paid the ultimate price. 🎖️   Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 5/16/25:
 
Kicking this week off with some really cool economic updates (scroll on down if this isn’t your cup of tea – but you know how much Uncle Sean loves to geek out on macroeconomic data - 🤓):
 

• The BLS April CPI Report came in at 2.3% which is the lowest since Feb 2021 when inflation skyrocketed from Covid (March was 2.4% which was the lowest reading since March 2021).  Core CPI was 2.8% (same as March).  CNBC has a pretty good summary.

 

• The FDIC published their 2025 Risk Review (which is a review of market and credit risks to banks as of the end of 2024) with some very cool graphs…  TLDR Punchline:
  • Economic conditions remained solid and the banking industry was resilient in 2024 despite an inverted yield curve and higher interest rates.
  • Unrealized losses on securities remain elevated due to longer-term interest rates (30yr mortgage and 10yr Treasury) being higher than they were in 2023 (more on this in a minute from the Office of Financial Research)…
    • Although there was no mention of this (scope was 2024), Student Loan performance is something Uncle Sean is keeping an eye on as collections on student debt resumed on May 5th for the first time since March 2020 (but credit reporting has already started)….  Could potentially have a broader impact on overall consumer credit quality going forward.

 

• The New York Fed published their Q1 2025 Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (more really cool charts – you know I love it 😊)…  TLDR Punchline:
  • Aggregate household debt continues to increase…  Up to $18.2T as of 1Q2025…  A 0.9% increase from 4Q2024 (and up about 28.7%, or $4.06T from 4Q2019 before the pandemic).
  • 👀 And here are those pesky Student Loans…  Outstanding student debt stood at $1.63T at 1Q2025 (for comparison, all CC balances are $1.18T).  Missed federal student loan payments that were not previously reported to credit bureaus between 2Q2020 and 4Q2024 are now appearing in credit reports (as Scooby-Doo would say, “Ruh Roh!!!”). Consequently, 7.7% of aggregate student debt was reported 90+ days delinquent in 1Q2025 compared to less than 1% reported in 4Q2024. 😬😲

 

• An last but not least, the Office of Financial Research published a really good (and short) blog on The State of Banks' Unrealized Securities Losses (yep, you guessed it – more cool graphs and great analysis! 😊)…  TLDR Punchline:
  • It’s not just unrealized losses on securities; it’s the composition (mix) of those securities that are proving to be “sticky” related to negative performance in conjunction with longer term rates (i.e. 10yr + Treasury rates).  Unrealized securities losses could persist for some time even if/when the Fed lowers rates.
    • 👉 Residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) followed closely by Treasuries make up a substantial portion of banks’ securities portfolios.  Most RMBS have maturities greater than 15 years coupled with negative convexity (yes, I had to look that up - LOL) making their price less sensitive to decreasing rates. The longer average maturity of RMBS coupled with higher 10-year Treasury yields may account in part for why unrealized securities losses persist.
      • In summary - “While the Federal Reserve can influence short-term interest rates by adjusting the federal funds rate, long-term interest rates reflect financial market participants’ expectations of inflation and willingness to accept the risk of lending long term. The magnitude of future unrealized securities gains or losses will depend on the trajectory of long-term interest rates, related hedging, and the duration of banks’ securities portfolios. Market supply and demand can also affect the value of the securities, independent of the direction of interest rates.”
        • 😉 Of course this is all assuming the Federal Reserve doesn’t go on another QE bond buying spree targeting the longer end of the yield curve (artificial demand to push rates down)… 🤷‍♂️

 
 
Now, back to the rest of the update!!! 😊
 

• Finally….  Chime has filed to go public on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “CHYM” – Banking Dive has a good article; and you can check out their full S-1 filing here.  I’ll let you be the judge on the financial stability of a (primarily) interchange based revenue model; and subsequent valuation 🤐...  However, here are a few cool BaaS updates in the S-1:
  • “The Bancorp Bank MSA has an initial 60-month term ending in July 2028, while the Stride Agreements each have initial 36-month terms ending in November 2025. Our bank partner agreements automatically renew for successive one-year periods unless either party provides written notice of non-renewal, which can be provided without cause to the other party at least 365 days, in the case of the Bancorp MSA, and at least 180 days, in the case of the Stride Agreements, prior to the end of any such term, or unless earlier terminated for cause.”
  • “…transactions have historically been processed by Galileo Financial Technologies, LLC (“Galileo”), a third-party payment processor, though we are in the process of transitioning our members’ transactions to being processed by ChimeCore; as of the end of 2024, we had transitioned all credit card transactions to being processed by ChimeCore, while all debit card transactions were still processed by Galileo.”
    • ChimeCore is their proprietary payment processor and ledger – also has proprietary AI and ML model helping to reduce fraud loss.

 

• Acorns (savings and investing app) has acquired EarlyBird, an investment gifting platform for families…
  • 🤔 IMO (even though nobody asked me 😊) - This appears to be an acquihire (acquisition based on the HR talent, not so much the tech or product platform) as “EarlyBird will shut down, and all customer accounts will officially close on June 23. Customers’ funds will be returned to the bank account connected to their account.”  The PR goes on to state that EarlyBird users will not be able transfer their funds directly to Acorns, but will need to withdraw their funds from EarlyBird and open a new account with Acorns if they want to join.
    • EarlyBird CEO and co-founder Jordan Wexler and co-founder Caleb Frankel will join the Acorns team to help build out Acorns Early (which was part of the GoHenry acquisition announced back in April 2023).

 

• SavvyMoney acquires CreditSnap strengthening its ability to work alongside existing LOS and account opening systems.  Per the PR – “Financial institutions can now offer a seamless, end-to-end experience by leveraging SavvyMoney’s demand-generation capabilities in conjunction with CreditSnap’s flexible integration process. From personalized credit insights to frictionless application and booking, allowing every integration to work with one unified platform.”

 

• More developments in the SMB space…  Square debuted Square Releases, a bi-annual product launch summary; and also revealed Square Handheld – a pocket-sized portable POS device equipped with integrated barcode scanner and camera. 💥

 

• First Business Bank (FDIC 15229; total assets $3.9B) partners with CorServ to issue commercial, business and consumer credit cards.  By utilizing CorServ’s hybrid issuing model (opposed to an Agent Bank referral mode), the bank is able to “gain more control over their credit card program, participate in credit decisioning and strengthen relationships with their customers.”

 

• Clearview Federal Credit Union (charter 9007; total assets $2B) partners with MANTL to enhance its business and consumer account opening experience “across all banking channels, including online, mobile app, in-field, and across its branch network.”
  • “By integrating MANTL with its Jack Henry Symitar core, Clearview will now be able to automate over 85% of deposit application decisions, including KYC, AML, BSA, product service ordering, funding, and core booking, to create efficiencies and keep manual processes to a minimum.”

 

• Speaking of Jack Henry…  SouthTrust Bank, N.A. (FDIC 13919; total assets $552M) selects Jack Henry for core and digital to fuel the banks growth and innovation efforts – targeting $2B in assets over the next decade.
  • 👉 Perhaps more importantly, the incumbent core processor had a strategic position within the bank (same vendor for core, online, and mobile), so displacing this vendor was no easy task.  PLUG TIME!!!! 😊 For more info here – contact our very own Mr. Bobby Button and ask about our Fintegration Ecosystem© covering the full vendor tech stack for every bank and credit union in the U.S.

 

• Costco (NASDAQ: COST) and Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) partner together to launch buy now pay later option for online orders – allowing Costco members shopping online to use Affirm at checkout to pay over time without any late or hidden fees.

 

• Byline Bank (FDIC 20624; total assets $9.6B) announced the expansion of its Payments and Fintech Banking group, “including several key new hires and leadership appointments, which underscore the bank’s significant investment in embedded finance and modern digital payment solutions.”  🚀

 

• Greenlight (family banking app) announced the launch of Family Shield, “its newest subscription plan designed to help caregivers protect seniors from financial fraud and ensure their physical safety. This first-of-its-kind product streamlines financial account monitoring and alerts, provides protections against fraud (including deceptive transfer fraud), identity theft, and money management errors, and offers remote features to help ensure senior safety.”  Nice!!!! 👏

 

• Zoho (business platform for CRM, payroll, workflows, and more) launched Zoho Payments, “a unified payment solution that helps businesses collect payments online using multiple payment methods like cards and ACH. The solution offers native payments capabilities within Zoho, enabling businesses to manage payments directly within their existing financial workflows.”

 

• 😬 Coinbase hack…  In a company blog, Coinbase said criminals targeted its own overseas customer support agents with cash offers and was able to obtain limited customer data; and then tried to extort Coinbase for $20 million to cover this up.  Instead, Coinbase is offering a $20M reward for the arrest and conviction of the criminals. 👍              
  • Per this 8-k filing, while Coinbase “has preliminarily estimated expenses to be within the range of approximately $180 million to $400 million relating to remediation costs and voluntary customer reimbursements relating to this Incident, prior to further review of potential losses, indemnification claims, and potential recoveries, which could meaningfully increase or decrease this estimate.”

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Stash (personal finance app including banking, investing, and advice) raised $146M in Series H funding round to expand its AI capabilities to further boost product development as the company looks to "drive subscriber growth".
  • FlexPoint (payments platform for managed service providers) raised $12M in Series A round citing “revenue growth of nearly 4x year over year, FlexPoint is trusted by over 40,000 businesses with their payments.”

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• WOW – this update really wore me out!  But I thoroughly enjoyed that RMBS securities analysis from the OFR if you couldn’t tell (nerd alert!!!). 😂  So let’s just jump right into the good stuff and close this week out (I see a cold beer 🍺 in my immediate future)!!!
  • And here is the good stuff!!!  Everyone’s favorite part of the Update - the Dad / Bad Jokes:
    • Never play tennis with a cymbal…  It makes a terrible racket! 😏
    • When I want to feel cultured, I eat yogurt! 🤠
    • Olive’s really should have been called “Greece’s Pieces”… 🤔😜
    • Dogs aren’t the only animal you can train.  I had a goldfish that could breakdance on the carpet…  But only for like 20 seconds. 🐟🕺🤣
    • Remember when we used to laugh at the commercial “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”?  Yeah, not so funny anymore… 😬😅

 
 
Have a GREAT weekend and an even greater Memorial Day weekend since I won’t be posting next week.  Oh – 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!!!
 
❤️❤️❤️ Happy Mother’s Day wishes to all the Mom’s this weekend ❤️❤️❤️!!!  Keeping this week short and sweet so we can begin the weekend celebrations!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 5/9/25:
 

• It’s Fed Week!!!  As expected, the FOMC unanimously voted to maintain the fed funds rate at 4.25% - 4.50% as the hard data continues to show an economy that is in a solid position, plus continued uncertainty over tariff policies.  Powell stated, “The risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation appear to have risen, and we believe that the current stance of monetary policy leaves us well positioned to respond in a timely way to potential economic developments.”
  • If you want more info – here is Chairman Powell’s Press Conference Transcript (25 pages); as well as the video (47:46).

 

• 💪 Check out my friends over at FIntegrate Technology as they reported nearly 80% revenue growth in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 1Q2024 helping FI’s manage credit and collections, dispute management, and data migration (FusionCRS, FusionDMS, and Fusion LRS solutions).  Congrats!!!! 🚀

 

• OakNorth Bank (London, England) announced they have surpassed $1 Billion in lending to US businesses since July 2023, marking another major milestone in its US expansion.
  • Keep in mind that OakNorth recently announced the acquisition of Community Unity Bank (FDIC 59305; total assets $67M) to further expand their US presence.
    • Okay – I admit it…  I was going to say something like “the British are coming!” – but I felt it would be in poor taste (see what I did there!)….  😅😬

 

• Santander Bank (FDIC 29950; total assets $105B) is closing 18 US branches by August as part of its ongoing digital strategy.  Recall back in early February where we talked about Santander’s new Direct Digital Bank, OpenBank, had hit $2B in deposits after only opening a few months prior in October!!! 💥
  • Ahh – but this whole internet thing is just a fad… 😂🤣

 

• 👉 Congratulations to Autobooks as they have acquired Allied Payment Network adding business bill pay to their existing suite of invoicing, bill pay, and accounting in one seamless platform.
  • Per this Autobooks blog post, “With the acquisition of Allied Payment Network, Autobooks gains a robust bill pay infrastructure that currently supports over 500 financial institutions, 150,000 customers, and processes more than $5 billion in payments each year. But this move is about more than scale — it’s about creating the first true all-in-one platform for small businesses. By integrating receivables, payables, accounting, and cash flow management directly into digital banking, we’re delivering a more seamless and complete financial experience for both institutions and their business customers.”
    • Also worth noting that Autobooks picked up $40M in fresh capital to support its continued expansion, including the acquisition of Allied Payment Network.

 

• CPI Card Goup announced the acquisition of Arroweye Solutions, Inc. for $45.55M in an all-cash transaction.  Per the PR, “The addition of Arroweye’s on-demand payment card solutions to CPI’s portfolio of payment card production, personalization, instant issuance, prepaid, and digital solutions will allow CPI to offer more choices to a larger combined base of thousands of customers. In addition, CPI anticipates leveraging its resources and market position to increase Arroweye’s share and expand penetration of its solutions to new customers. Arroweye’s revenues are expected to be in the mid-$50 million range in 2025, on an annualized basis.”

 

• Numerica Credit Union (charter 66841; total assets $4.1B) partners with MANTL for business and consumer account opening with full integration with its Jack Henry Symitar core.

 

• Blend Labs (NYSE: BLND) announced a new integration with Glia embedding Glia’s chat, voice, video and AI tools directly into Blend’s Digital Banking platform for FI’s.
  • “This seamless, in-application support is powered by Glia’s ChannelLess® Architecture, which unifies voice, digital service and AI into a single experience—eliminating data silos and preserving context across every interaction. Financial institutions can engage customers across devices, personalize support at scale and maximize both efficiency and satisfaction. For example, if a borrower encounters a question about required documentation, clicking the 'Let's Talk!' icon instantly opens a chat window with a loan specialist, all without navigating away from their application.”  Nice!!! 👍

 

• Perpay selects Marqeta to power the Perpay Credit Card (issued by Celtic Bank), a leading unsecured credit card designed to help people build or improve their credit by automating payments directly from a paycheck.

 

• Freedom Bank (FDIC 58010; total assets $140M) selects Vine Financial’s commercial lending technology allowing its bankers and borrowers to collaborate more effectively (including automation of many manual tasks) from application to close via AI-powered financial spreading, customer loan workflows, and document generation capabilities.

 

• Samsung is adding a new Tap to Transfer feature, as part of the Samsung Wallet and powered by Green Dot Arc, to enable fast peer-to-peer (P2P) payments to other digital wallets or contactless debit cards, with additional features and functionality planned.

 

• Verifone and Stripe announced a strategic partnership where “Stripe services will natively run on Verifone payment devices, offering Stripe customers even more flexibility and choice in deploying durable and performant in-person payments. The partnership will also expand Verifone’s reach to a new base of modern, fast-growing businesses seeking enterprise-grade hardware and global payment capabilities.”

 

• 👀 Upstart (Nasdaq: UPST; an AI lending marketplace) has signed a 1-yr deal with OnePay (Walmart Fintech arm)  Per this Upstart 8-K, “…Upstart and OnePay will collaborate on co-branded offerings, including co-branded direct mail campaigns.  Upstart does not expect the partnership to have a material impact on its financial condition or results of operations for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.”

 

• Some interesting personnel moves:
  • It’s official…  Fiserv (NYSE: FI) announced Michael P. Lyons has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Fiserv after the confirmation of Frank Bisignano, Fiserv’s prior CEO, as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration.
  • BILL (NYSE: BILL) appointed Mike Cieri as EVP, GM of Software Solutions to lead and drive software strategy across the BILL platform, reporting directly to CEO and Founder, René Lacerte.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Rippling (global workforce management solution) raised a massive $450M in Series G funding round at an incredible $16.8B valuation.  CHA-CHING!!!! 💰💰💰
  • Agree.com (AI-powered e-signature platform that includes invoicing and payment processing) raised $7.2M Seed Round to compete in the e-signature and B2B payments space as a differentiator.
  • Glide (embedded finance infrastructure for FI’s) $15M Series A to expand its product roadmap, scale its AI capabilities, and expand its world-class team.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was elected as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church as Pope Leo XIV — the first-ever American pope (although he has lived abroad most of his life in service of others and holds dual citizenship)!!!  Pope Leo XIV has a fascinating story (check out this CBS Report), and apparently per his brother’s clarification – is actually a Chicago White Sox fan. ⚾  It’s okay pontiff – nobody’s perfect! 😲😬😅🙏

• Okay, let’s close this week out and kick Mother’s Day weekend into high gear!!! 🍷🎉❤️  Here are the Dad / Bad Jokes:
  • Sometimes, just to annoy my therapist, I ask: “So, how does my lack of progress make you feel?” 😂🤪
  • I had a dream I was at work…  So when I woke up I called in sick…  Ain’t no way I’m working twice in one day!!! 🚫😊
  • We used to just have village idiots…  But now with the internet, they’ve gone global! 🌎🤷‍♂️😅
  • And last but not least…  ChatGPT asks Chuck Norris questions… 🤠

 
Have a WONDERFUL Mother’s Day 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!!!
 
I can’t believe it is May already – certainly hoping the proverbial April showers do indeed bring May flowers!!! 😊🌻🌷  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 5/2/25:
 
👀 With plenty of eyes on the FOMC meeting next week (5/6-7), here is a quick look at some economic updates this week:
 

• First quarter advance estimate for GDP came in at -0.3% (+0.1% expected, +2.4% prior) - the first negative GDP rating since 1Q2022.  However, a substantial pull-in of imports (negative to GDP) due to presumed tariff concerns impacted GDP by -5.03%.
  • When pulling out many of the Liberation Day anomalies, “Real Final Sales to Private Domestic Purchasers” was 3.0% versus 2.9% in 4Q2024.

 

• The BLS April Jobs Report came in with a solid 177,000 jobs added (138K expected, March was revised down by 43K to 185K; and Feb was revised down by 15K to 102K); and the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2% (as expected and 4.2% previously).  Yahoo Finance has a good summary.
  • Keep in mind that employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed – so the full effect of DOGE reductions may not be captured until late this summer (paid administrative leave through Sept. 30).

 
More interesting merger news (and a CU liquidation):
 

• 👉 Another CU acquisition of a bank…  This week it is Frontier Credit Union (Charter 68376; total assets $698M) to acquire First Citizens Bank of Butte (FDIC 22502; total assets $75M).
  • If you are keeping score, this is now the 6th announced CU acquisition of a bank for 2025.  This compares to 22 for 2024, 11 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019. Source: FedFis Bank M&A data.
    • 💥 Warning – here comes an Uncle Sean “off the rails” moment with some unsolicited commentary and speculation…  I haven’t seen anyone else post about the financial structure yet, so here goes…
      • “Comparatively speaking”…  This CU appears to be struggling with some asset quality issues in their concentrated indirect automobile loan portfolio.  They have a “relatively” poor liquidity position, high net charge-offs and delinquencies, a comparatively weak capital position in relation to amount of delinquent loans and loan loss allowance, and poor profitability (again, all relatively speaking).  Also carrying $28M in other borrowed funds even though Total Loans/Shares & Deposits is only at 89%.
      • The target bank is an old bank (est. 1977) to have only $75M in total assets – so I am assuming that succession planning is probably a determining factor in their decision to sell.
        • Uncle Sean’s opinion – this is a way for the CU to pick up some cash to help with liquidity (the bank has $18M in cash) plus another $22M in AFS securities (mostly treasuries at 1-3 years per RC-B so this sets them up nicely if the FOMC cuts rates in the next couple of quarters after mark-to-market merger accounting adjustments).  Also allows for low cost deposit grab at 1.75% for IB deposits ($53M worth) as well as a $33M loan portfolio comprised mostly of 1-4 (which the CU is familiar with) that includes a small amount of C&I ($4.6M) – also with mostly short dated repricing tenors.  This also allows the CU to further diversify away from their concentration of new and used vehicle loans – which has been a bit of an underwriting problem.  Worth noting that the target bank is running 7% yield on loans (10% for C&I) with a 4.03% NIM.
          • Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for free markets and I don’t have a dog in the “tax exempt CU acquisition of tax paying bank” fight…  But it does “feel” wrong to lose an FDIC charter to prop up a CU that is struggling with indirect automobile loan performance. 🤷‍♂️
            • 🤔 Maybe CU’s that acquire banks should do so in a reverse merger style and lose their NCUA charter and have to adopt the FDIC charter and taxable status going forward????  Just thinking out loud (which pretty much always gets me in trouble – LOL!!!)…  Send me an email or comment on LinkedIn and let me know your thoughts!!!! 🤙

 

• This one is cool to me a I spent many years running around Central and South-central Oklahoma in my younger days (fond memories for sure; and I love that Arbuckle Mountain area and the CNRA)…  Chickasaw Banc Holding Company (FR 3045721), bank subsidiary is Chickasaw Community Bank (Native American bank; FDIC 11521; total assets $549M) to acquire Oklahoma Heritage Bank (FDIC 22855; total assets $101M) headquartered in Roff, OK (which is just up the road from Sulphur, OK in case you were wondering 😊).

 

• First National Bank of Omaha (FDIC 5452; total assets $31.8B) to acquire Country Club Bank (FDIC 8888; total assets $2.2B) headquartered in Kansas City, MO – bringing together two privately owned institutions with multi-generational family leadership.

 

• Cadence Bank (NYSE: CADE; FDIC 11813 – no BHC) to acquire Industry Bancshares, Inc. (FR 2112439), a multi-bank holding company of Texas banks, in an all-cash transaction “between $20M and $60M” based on Industry Bancshares’ equity capital at the closing of the transaction. 
  • Yes, that’s more than just a little odd; and this Banking Dive article spells it out as “unique.”  Here is some additional detail from call report data (source: FedFis Bank Analyst platform) due to securities portfolio issues (AOCI losses) with the bank subsidiaries that helps to clear up the “unique” nature of the purchase price 😲:
    • Citizens State Bank (FDIC 12501; total assets $1.13B; total AOCI -$206.5M; total equity -$44M)
    • Bank of Brenham, NA (FDIC 57102; total assets $620M; total AOCI -$102M; total equity -$21M)
    • Fayetteville Bank (FDIC 3195; total assets $630M; total AOCI -$116M; total equity -$35M)
    • Industry State Bank (FDIC 12506; total assets $790M; total AOCI -$140M; total equity $7.7M)
    • The First National Bank of Bellville (FDIC 3099; total assets $731M; total AOCI -$124M; total equity -$26.5M)
    • The First National Bank of Shiner (FDIC 5529; total assets $813M; total AOCI -$159M; total equity -$44.2M)

 

• The NCUA closed Unilever Federal Credit Union (charter 5736; total assets $46.7M as of 12/31/24 call report) via involuntary liquidation and discontinued its operations after determining the credit union was insolvent and had no prospect for restoring viable operations.
  • It’s not completely unheard of, but it is somewhat rare that a CU is liquidated prior to going into conservatorship.  Looking back, there have only been 5 examples of this since 2019 (one was fraud) with the largest being $12M in total assets.  Smaller CU’s (less than $50M) can fail very fast.

 

• Flex (personal finance software for business owners) acquires Maza, a finance app designed for Spanish-speaking solopreneurs and consumers in the U.S..  Post closing, Maza will operate as Flex Consumer.

 
Core Processor headlines:
 

• Fiserv (NYSE: FI) processes their first card-based payment transactions under their new Georgia merchant acquirer limited purpose bank charter (MALB).

 

• FIS (NYSE: FIS) announced the launch of its next-generation enterprise treasury platform, Treasury and Risk Manager – Quantum Cloud Edition.  “In addition to leveraging the power of the public cloud, this version of FIS’ treasury and risk management solution offers a new Liquidity Hub module for harnessing data from multiple sources – such as enterprise resource planning systems and bank APIs – to enable cash-management analysis in real time.”

 
Product launches and funding:
 

• Zest.ai announced their AI-automated underwriting and fraud detection platform is now integrated with Temenos Loan Origination solution.

 

• Kraken launches “embed” – its new Crypto-as-a-Service solution allowing for embedded de-fi within trad-fi…  (🤯 Oh my head 😅!!!)  All kidding aside – check out Kraken Embed to see how banks, fintechs and payment platforms use Kraken to launch regulated crypto quickly and seamlessly.  Kraken Embed is already live with Dutch neobank, bunq (which recently applied for broker dealer license in the US).

 

• Square expands banking services to give sellers instant access to their cash flow as well as free and easier ways to manage their earnings.

 

• Fasten launches the Fasten Rewards Visa credit card for auto-related rewards targeting dealerships as a distribution strategy.

 

• Xero small business platform launches US online bill payments powered by BILL.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Persona (the red-hot identity verification space) raised a $200M Series D round at a $2B valuation – CHA-CHING!!! 💰
  • Thunes (global cross-border payments) picked up a $150M Series D round to supercharge its expansion in the U.S.
  • Fundthrough (invoice factoring platform) raised $25M in Series B and subsequently announced the acquisition of Ampla (small business banking platform including lending).

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• We are live – oops, I mean “autonomous” LOL!!!  Aurora Innovation has successfully launched a commercial self-driving trucking service in Texas with the initial route between Dallas and Houston.
• To all my outdoor enthusiast and backyard birders, check out this app - https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/.  I downloaded this to my phone yesterday and really enjoy it.  It identifies birds by their call / sound  and provides pictures of the birds it identifies – super cool!!!  Special thanks to my friend and colleague, Mr. Rick Boals, for letting me know about this app! 😊 🐦
• And of course some obligatory Bad / Dad Jokes:
  • If time is money, does that mean ATM’s are time machines…??? 🤠
  • Apparently, Humpty Dumpty had a terrible winter…  Which sucks because I heard he had a great fall…  🤦‍♂️🙄
  • Universal parenting knowledge…  You can have kids, or you can have a complete and matching set of silverware.  You cannot have both! 🤣
  • A father noticed that his son was spending way too much time playing computer games, so he said, “Son, when Abe Lincoln was your age he spent his time studying books by the light of the fireplace.”  The son pondered this for a moment and replied, “When Abe Lincoln was your age, he was President of the United States.”  Well played young man, well played! 🏆

 
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.