Uncle Sean's Update - 1/10/25

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

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

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