Uncle Sean's Update - 10/10/25

Happy Friday!!!
 
Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 10/10/25 (click here to subscribe for FREE):
 

• “Wreck ‘Em!!!” 🤠  Shoutout to E.W. & J. D. Williams Institute for Community Banking at Texas Tech as they renew their Friends of BHB Sponsorship!!! 👏
  • "By renewing our commitment as a Friends of BHB sponsor, we’re further aligning with BHB’s vision to equip future leaders with the knowledge and resources they need to address the challenges and opportunities facing community banks," said Jeff Mercer, Executive Director of the Williams Institute and Executive Director of the Texas Tech School of Banking at Texas Tech. "Our ongoing collaboration is a perfect example of how education and real-world solutions can come together to drive transformation within community banking."  Uncle Sean love’s this!!! 😊🎉

 

• 👀 Another Texas bank gets acquired…  Huge bank merger announcement this week with Fifth Third (FDIC 6672; total assets $209B) to acquire Texas-based Comerica Bank (FDIC 983; total assets $78B) in an all-stock transaction valued at $10.9 billion – WOWZA!!! 💰
  • This  Fifth Third Investor Presentation deck is well done showing the combined entity footprint in 17 of the 20 fastest-growing markets in the country.

 

• 👉 I have written about Charlie before regarding their target niche banking solution which is pretty cool (fintech banking platform targeting the 62+ age group – banking services provided by Sutton Bank).  Now they are definitely stepping up their game.  Check out their new page (https://ai.charlie.com/) that allows you to show your loved ones how easy it is for fraudsters to create a deepfake scam (raising awareness) – by creating your own AI-generated video message.  Very nice!!! 👍

 

• And so it begins…  Bank of North Dakota (the Nation’s only state-owned bank, so no FDIC cert, but listed as $10B in total assets) partners with Fiserv’s (NYSE: FI) digital assets platform (announced in June along with a new white-label stablecoin, FIUSD) to launch the "Roughrider Coin", North Dakota’s first stablecoin.  Fully backed by U.S. dollars, the Roughrider coin will be the first U.S. state stablecoin to launch on the Fiserv digital asset platform. 🚀

 

• FIS (NYSE: FIS) announced a strategic partnership with Glia (AI-powered banking interactions) to deliver “advanced AI-powered customer engagement capabilities across FIS' Digital One suite of retail and business banking products.”

 

• East West Bank (FDIC 31628; total assets $78B) and Worldpay sign a long-term agreement to give East West Bank commercial and business clients access to “Worldpay’s industry-leading payment tools — including point-of-sale, smart terminals, omnichannel, eCommerce, and loyalty solutions — designed to help businesses grow with confidence and operate more efficiently.”

 

• Bud Financial (AI platform that turns banking data into actionable insights) announced the launch of Bud Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server enabling banks to “rapidly deploy AI internal and customer facing systems while leveraging their core customer data.”

 

• Live Oak Banking Company (FDIC 58665; total assets $13.7B) partners with infinant’s embedded finance solution to “deliver an elevated standard for managing partner programs on a bank-grade ledgering platform to meet regulatory and compliance demands.” 👏

 

• West Virginia Central FCU (charter 24888; total assets $316M) teams up with InvestiFi to bring digital investing solutions to its 23,000+ members across West Virginia and Ohio.

 

• Credit Union of America (charter 60062; total assets $1.7B) partnered with equipifi to bring  BNPL to its suite of digital products for its 100,000 members.

 

• Imprint (modern co-branded credit card platform) to power the new Crate & Barrel and CB2 Visa Signature® Card issued by First Bank & Trust (FDIC 3973; total assets $4.7B).

 

• Copper Banking (teen banking platform) rebrands as GenAspire after being acquired by Black Dragon Capital and is now focused on partnering with credit unions as a white-label solution for pioneering financial education for the next generation. 🤙
  • In a separate announcement, Open Banking Solutions (OBS), also a Black Dragon Capital company, announced its partnership with GenAspire to provide white-labeled financial education solution to CU’s that are utilizing the OBS next generation core platform featuring integrated digital banking, account opening capabilities, workflow engines, management dashboards, and reporting tools, designed to grow with its users.

 

• Some big personnel moves this week:
  • ICBA promotes Wayne Miller to Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer – Congrats!!!! 🎉
  • The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano will also serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Internal Revenue Service, a newly created position reporting directly to Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent.
    • Frank was previously President and CEO at Fiserv before being nominated as Social Security Commissioner.
  • Congratulations to Andres Pasantes and his promotion to President and CEO of Engage fi succeeding Jenn Addabbo (co-founder and CEO) as she transitions to Executive Chair of the Board.

 

• Yendo (secured credit card based on automobile equity as collateral – issued by Cross River Bank) raised $50M in Series B round to “accelerate Yendo’s expansion beyond secured lending as it builds an AI-powered digital bank for the millions of Americans underserved by traditional financial institutions.”  The company is preparing for a wave of launches in 4Q2025 as they build out an inclusive digital bank platform.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• 🏈🏈🏈 College football at its finest…  It’s OU vs Texas weekend with gametime set for 2:30PM CDT on Saturday, Oct 11 on ABC / ESPN!!!  The rivals face off for the 121st time in the Red River Rivalry.  The game has been held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the Texas State Fair since the 1930s.  UT leads the series 64-51-5, but OU has a 17-9 record in the 21st century.  Check out these video clips to bring goosebumps (the player POV coming out of the tunnel is awesome)!  BOOMER SOONER!!!!

• PSA (the accountant in me had to bring this up) alert…  The IRS released the 2026 tax inflation adjustments including tax tables, limits on deductions and credits, and amendments from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.
  • Speaking of the IRS….  If you filed an extension for your 2024 taxes, the extension deadline of 10/15/25 is fast approaching…  😬
• Okay – let’s wrap it up with some Dad / Bad jokes for the weekend:
  • Remember – the only thing worse than a bucket full of snakes… is a bucket that was supposed to be full of snakes… 🐍😮
  • Bologna is just hot dog pancakes. 🌭😅
  • For a song called “Piano Man” someone really should tell the guy with the harmonica to chill… 🎹🤠
  • And last but not least….
    • I was staring at my naked body in the mirror and thought. “I’m gonna get kicked out of this IKEA pretty soon.” 😂🤣

 
 
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.