Uncle Sean's Update - 1/26/24

Happy Friday!!!
 
What an exciting week!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/26/24:
 
Right off the bat, Uncle Sean goes “off the rails” with some unsolicited economic commentary including a fist-bump 👊 to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell who may actually be on the cusp of orchestrating the greatest soft landing since the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing in 1969… 🚀

• Check out the economic good news as we close out a surprisingly strong 2023:
  • Holy smokes – even I was excited and surprised to see the BEA announce GDP at an annualized rate of 3.3% in Q4 (smashing estimates of 2%).  Additionally, it was also reported that inflation continues to cool as BEA PCE (the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation) came in at 2.6% YoY with Core PCE at 2.9% even with robust holiday spending.  CNBC has a really good summary as always.
  • The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index also jumped 13% in January to 78.8 (highest level since Jul 2021); and marks the largest 2 month increase of 29% since 1991 as we exited a recession.  The index is nearly 60% above the all-time low measured in June of 2022 (the early days of the FOMC historic run of unprecedented rate increases and stark reversal of QE bond buying to QT).
  • For a reality check, there are still plenty of geopolitical risks, budget deficit spending, and inflationary headwinds to monitor as we look forward to the FOMC meeting next week.

• 👀 HOWEVER….  In the meantime, if you happen to see Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell slow cruising down Main Street with one hand on the wheel, windows down, shirt sleeves rolled up, head tilted back with shades on, and the music bumpin’ to MC Hammer - "2 Legit 2 Quit", just mind ya’ business and let that man flex! 💪  You do you, Jay-Pow (mic drop)!!!! 😆🤠✌️🕶️

 
 
Now back to the rest of the Uncle Sean Update 😊:

• More Fed news as the Federal Reserve Board announced the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) will cease making new loans as scheduled on March 11.
  • Worth noting for my interest arbitrage friends - “As the program ends, the interest rate applicable to new BTFP loans has been adjusted such that the rate on new loans extended from now through program expiration will be no lower than the interest rate on reserve balances in effect on the day the loan is made. This rate adjustment ensures that the BTFP continues to support the goals of the program in the current interest rate environment. This change is effective immediately. All other terms of the program are unchanged.”

• Ingo Payments has partnered with MOCA to provide instant account funding as another added benefit to MOCA's Patriot Card (and will be rolled out to other MOCA cards and accounts over the coming months) eliminating the need to wait the traditional 3-5 days for deposits and transfers to fully settle.  Nice work and Thank You for taking care of our Nation’s Service Members, Veterans, and their families! 👍

• Moody’s Analytics and Numerated are collaborating to expand the end-to-end capabilities of Moody’s Analytics Lending Suite across all commercial and small business asset classes.

• Rapid Finance has partnered with LoanPro so that Rapid Finance’s digital LOS platform (Decisioneer) is now integrated with LoanPro’s API-first lending and credit platform to provide Lending-as-a-Service to small businesses across the U.S.

• Shout-out to Sanjay Bhaskar and Greg Ohlendorf as Revio is partnering with First Community Bank & Trust of Beecher, IL to unlock actionable insights within the bank’s data to “foster deeper customer relationships and optimize service delivery.”  Uncle Sean loves to see good people doing good things together!

• Klarna (BNPL) rolls out subscription plan with the launch of Klarna Plus in the U.S. through the Klarna app for a monthly fee of $7.99.

• Novo announced Novo Payroll for small businesses powered by Check embedded payroll solution.  Novo Payroll is “fully integrated into Novo’s platform of small business banking, budgeting, and working capital solutions, enabling small businesses to manage their finances from a single platform.”

• Torpago and Marqeta team up to launch Sunwest Bank’s Visionary Card Program, a commercial credit card and expense management solution.

• And another CU buying a bank…  Advia CU (charter #61503; $2.9B Total Assets) to acquire NorthSide Community Bank (FDIC #34416; $267M Total Assets).
  • For those keeping score, this marks 3 CU acquisitions of a bank thus far in 2024 compared to 11 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019 (source: FedFis M&A database).

• California dreaming…  The Hartford announced they will no longer issue new home-owner policies in California starting February 2024; joining the ranks of State Farm and Allstate in pulling out of Cali. 🏠

• Interesting Personnel moves this week:
  • CSI brings in Roxanne Martinez as Chief People Officer.
  • Jack Henry announced Greg Adelson promotion from COO to CEO succeeding David Foss who will retire on July 1. Foss will remain executive chairman.
  • Bread Financial names Allegra Driscoll as EVP and CTO.

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • ModernFi (reciprocal deposit platform + deposit management) raised $18.7M in Series A funding round.
  • Bilt Rewards (rent rewards and Credit Card) raised a whopping $200M Equity Round with a 2x increase in valuation to $3.1B (cha-ching).
  • BillingPlatform raised $90M in Growth Equity funding
  • ATTUNE (fka Lendsmart) raised $2.23M in Seed round as they evolve from lending focused to all-encompassing digital engagement platform for financial institutions.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• After winning the College Football National Championship, Jim Harbaugh is leaving Michigan and returning to the NFL as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.  And Ohio State fans across the Nation rejoice - LOL!!!
• More 🏈 football….  These shirtless Jason Kelce memes are still cracking me up!!!!  A couple of my favorites as he cheers on his brother:
  • Only Jason Kelce could upstage Taylor Swift.
  • From Jason Kelce regarding his daughters text, "Ellie said 'Dads boobs are showing'!"
  • If I told you a shirtless Jason Kelce would be in a suite with Cara Delevingne cheering on Taylor Swift's boyfriend, you wouldn't have believed me.  Just think about that when you say you know what's going to happen a year from now.
  • Oh okay so when Jason Kelce does it everyone loves it but when I do it it’s “time to go home”
• Okay – here we go😊:
  • You know you are getting older when you sit down in a rocking chair and you struggle to get it started!  😲😂
  • Can you buy a whole chess set at a pawn shop…???  🤔
  • I don’t always carry all the groceries on one arm, but when I do, my keys are in the wrong pocket…. Every….  Single….  Time…. 😆
  • What can’t humans hear a dog whistle?  Because dogs can’t whistle… 🐶😉

 
 
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.