Uncle Sean's Update - 2/16/24

Happy Friday!!!
 
It was a pretty light week in the news – which is what we probably needed after making it through the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, and Valentine’s day over the past seven days!!!  However, it was not without a couple of bombshells…  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 2/16/24:
 
Real quick – there are two pretty big stories out this week that, well quite frankly, are better covered by folks other than me; so I am just going to pass these along:
 

• First (ICYMI), Temenos was the focus of a recent Hindenburg Research Report (noted activist for taking short positions – this is their M.O.) which was highly critical (of course) of Temenos claiming accounting irregularities and multiple breach of contract scenarios due to alleged implementation/misrepresentation issues particularly in North America.
  • Temenos fundamentally refutes the report stating “factual inaccuracies and analytical errors, together with false and misleading allegations, which are intended to adversely impact the Company’s share price.”
  • Special credit goes out to Jason Mikula for posting this story on LinkedIn.  For those that don’t know, Jason does an excellent job of investigative journalism in the fintech space.  I encourage everyone to subscribe to his weekly newsletter, Fintech Business Weekly.

 

• Second is the OCC filed their Cease and Desist Order for Blue Ridge Bank (BRB).  Do yourself a favor and follow Sarah Beth Felix on LinkedIn – she is the bomb 💣💥 on all things AML!!!  Check out her excellent LinkedIn write-up on the BRB C&D here as there is plenty to learn.

 
Now back to the rest of the Uncle Sean Update:
 

• Well….  January CPI came in a little bit hotter 🔥than expected for the month at 0.3% (expectation was 0.2%) and 3.1% YoY (expectation was 2.9%).  Excluding food and energy, Core CPI was 0.4% for the month (expectation was 0.3%) and 3.9% YoY (expectation was 3.7%).  CNBC has a good summary as always – I love the trendline graphs as they give me hope.  😊
  • While not a great reading for those looking for faster rate cuts - keep in mind that a single economic metric does not portray the entire picture.  Monetary policy is still restrictive, and inflation is continuing to trend downward (YoY basis); and shelter (a lagging indicator) continues to be a stubborn drag on CPI.

 

• Ahhh, love (and credit) is in the air this Valentine’s week 💘…   Neon Money Club (lifestyle themed fintech) announced the launch of 'SCORE', an online dating app for people with good to excellent credit scores.
  • Yes, I do find the dating app / credit score link funny (in my head I’m hearing “you gotta be a 750 to go out with me” LOL 😊) – but to be 100% honest, I do agree with their overall message of raising awareness about the importance of finances in relationships. ✌️

 

• This continues to pick up steam in the US…  More pay-by-bank headlines as FIS (NYSE: FIS) announced a strategic partnership with Banked to drive new pay-by-bank offerings for both businesses and consumers.

 

• Nacha flex 💪 as the ACH Network records strong growth in 2023 citing 31.5 billion payments (up 4.8% over 2022) valued at $80.1 trillion (up 4.4% over 2022).  4th quarter 2023 growth was accelerating at 8.1 billion ACH payments made with a total value of $20.5 trillion, increases of 5.8% and 5.6% respectively over 4Q2022.
  • Strong growth in Same Day ACH and business-to-business (B2B) payments.
  • Overall, the ACH Network averaged more than 126 million payments per day - WHOOF!!!

 

• In the mortgage world, Guild Mortgage (NYSE: GHLD) acquired Academy Mortgage.  Academy’s loan volume represents an approximate 25% increase in annual origination volume for Guild and the combined company would be the 8th largest non-bank retail lender in the country.

 

• More mortgage news - Better announced the launch of a fully digital VA loan with no down payment.  Check it out at better.com/va-loan.

 

• Grasshopper Bank (FDIC 59113) partnered with Greenlite for AI-powered enhanced due diligence for Grasshopper’s small and medium-sized business (SMB) and startup clients from digital channels including partnerships with fintech companies.

 

• FinWise Bank (FDIC 35323) is Earnest’s newest banking partner to originate Earnest Private Student Loans.

 

• SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI) is now the official banking partner of the NBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and USA Basketball in a multi-year partnership.

 

• Advantage Payment Services (APS) announced a strategic partnership with Sutton Bank to offer APS' Advantage Platform regulatory compliance technology to clients of Sutton Bank.

 

• FIntegrate Technology continues to innovate and automate their dispute management system with the new integration of e-OSCAR into their FusionDMS suite.
  • “e-OSCAR Integration is rolling out in this quarter for all FIs dealing with credit bureau disputes. FusionDMS’s automated e-OSCAR integration eliminates the need to review and update data into different systems manually. e-OSCAR, a product used by all financial institutions to handle credit bureau disputes, can now be managed directly in FusionDMS, eliminating the need for manual entry and errors.”

 

• Interesting personnel moves:
  • Former PayPal exec Gabrielle Rabinovitch is the new CFO at Worldpay.
  • Mission Lane appoints current board member Brandon Black as CEO.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Cascading AI (responsible AI for banking) raised $3.9M in pre-seed funding.  Check out their flagship product, Casca - an AI-native commercial loan origination system at cascading.ai.
  • Parlay Finance (white-labeled enhancement tool for FI SMB loan origination systems) raised $1.3M in pre-seed funding.
  • Ribbon (helping banks automate inheritance claims) raised $2.7M in pre-seed funding.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Congrats to the Kansas City Chiefs for winning Super Bowl LVIII!  The Chiefs now have 4 Super Bowl victories under their belt including 3 out of the last 5.  That game got really exciting late in the 3rd quarter and was crazy wild going into overtime. 🏈
  • And now we wait……..  Only six more months until football season….  Wait, WHAT???  Ugh!!!! 😢
• Okay – we have to make this quick as I am SOOOO ready for the weekend!!!!  Here are the coveted Dad / Bad Jokes to close out our Friday 🍺:
  • When you start to doze off on the couch before bed, it’s like a sleep appetizer…  A nappetizer if you will… 😴💤
  • Confucius says, “be careful when following the masses…  As sometimes the ‘M’ is silent…” 😲😆
  • Alas – an accounting test Dad joke: 🤓
    • Q: Illustrate how to capitalize expenses
    • A: expenses → EXPENSES (that is so dorky that I love it!!!) 😂🤣

 
 
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.