Uncle Sean's Update - 8/23/24

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Don’t forget to sign up here to have the Uncle Sean Update and the FinTech Cowboys interviews delivered straight to your inbox every week!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 8/23/24:
 

• I’m not going to lie one bit – my favorite headline of the week goes to two outstanding firms partnering together to the benefit of community banks…  High-five’s all around to the great folks at DCI and RiskScout as they partner together to launch a robust and comprehensive BSA/AML solution with customizable monitoring capabilities 💥 and real-time communication as a more cost effective solution (❤️) for community banks nationwide. 🎉🙌🚀

 

• Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole today was largely in line with expectations.  A notable (and expected) shift in sentiment from “will they cut rates” to “when and how much will the rate cuts be.”  And of course the statement that you will likely see over and over from all media outlets - “The time has come for policy to adjust. The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.”  😎

 

• Late last Friday, U.S. Eagle FCU (Charter 808; Total Assets $1.5B) to acquire Southwest Capital Bank (FDIC 12258; Total Assets $475M).  Apparently there is a cannabis banking play here as US Eagle has a cannabis banking arm (Aery Group is a division of US Eagle) and Southwest Capital Bank is known to offer cannabis banking solutions. 
  • Keeping score – this is now the 14th announced acquisition of a bank by a credit union thus far in 2024 compared to 11 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019 (Source: FedFis)

 

• Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX) jumps into the fintech / embedded finance space with the launch of Paychex Flex® Perks, a digital employee benefits marketplace, with 17 unique products including “early access to earned wages, financial wellness solutions, and voluntary lifestyle benefits for the employees of Paychex customers.”  Also included is:
  • Paychex Pay, an online account established by Central Bank of Kansas City with a Mastercard Debit Card and Savings Account.
  • EWA powered by Payactiv.
  • Financial Wellness platform powered by FinFit.

 

• Agent IQ announced a partnership with the Bank of Utah (FDIC 17159; Total Assets $3.3B) to launch a new chat solution powered by Agent IQ’s Lynq™ digital engagement platform.  “A key aspect of the partnership with Agent IQ was the seamless integration with Bank of Utah’s Q2 online banking platform for mobile and browser access, as well as the bank’s MANTL account opening tool.”

 

• Stop! Collaborate & listen! (🕺🎵 - LOL)…  Although competitors, Adyen and PayPal continue to collaborate with Adyen to offer Fastlane by PayPal in the US to accelerate online checkout with plans to expand this offering globally in the future.
  • Not only will Adyen customers be able to continue leveraging PayPal’s best-in-class consumer wallets (PayPal, Venmo, BNPL), they can now also access our new Fastlane by PayPal service to accelerate guest checkout flows for their enterprise and marketplace customers in the U.S.  This partnership brings Adyen’s payments infrastructure together with PayPal’s ability to drive accelerated checkout flows for more than 400 million shoppers globally.

 

• Trimont shoots to #1 as the largest US CRE servicer (was previously #10) after Wells Fargo sells most of its CRE loan servicing portfolio (non-agency) to Trimont.  Terms were not disclosed, but Trimont CEO Bill Sexton said his firm would take over servicing for roughly $475 billion worth of loans. That will triple Trimont’s loans under management to over $715 billion.

 

• U.S. Bank (FDIC 6548; Total Assets $665B) was busy this week with some strategic announcements:
  • U.S. Bank acquires healthcare payments platform Salucro Healthcare Solutions who was a partner of Elavon, the merchant acquiring unit within U.S. Bank.  Salucro team members are now employees of U.S. Bank and will integrate into Elavon, allowing the banks Elavon unit to dig deeper into healthcare payments and billing services.
  • U.S. Bank partners with Edward Jones to offer deposit and credit card products to Edward Jones’ U.S. clients beginning in 2025.  “U.S. Bank has had an Edward Jones card-issuing relationship through its Elan division since 2012.”
    • Banking Dive has a good article reminding us that last year, Citi had launched a partnership with Edward Jones for checking and savings services, but Citi disbanded the program within months during its reorg.

 

• Finio (digital lending infrastructure platform) announced a partnership with FreedomRoad Financial (FRF1) to integrate FRF1’s loan origination process with Fino’s digital lending infrastructure platform giving FRF1 “instant access to credit applications submitted by customers and dealers through various online channels.”
  • FreedomRoad Financial is a motorcycle and powersports financing leader and a direct digital bank as a division of Evergreen Bank Group (FDIC 35230; Total Assets $1.5B).

 

• 👀 Other legal / regulatory developments this week:
  • Remember back in April when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a rule banning noncompete agreements???  Well, not so fast my friend (in my best Lee Corso voice)!!!  A federal judge in Texas (Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas) has thrown out the government's ban on noncompete agreements on the basis that the FTC does not have the authority to do so.  "The FTC lacks substantive rulemaking authority with respect to unfair methods of competition," she wrote. "The role of an administrative agency is to do as told by Congress, not to do what the agency think[s] it should do.” 😬
    • The FTC is considering an appeal.
  • A group of 11 industry trade groups called for an additional 60 day extension to comment on the FDIC’s recently proposed tightening of Brokered Deposits rule impacting everything from fintech sourced deposits to internet deposits and deposit sweep networks; and the resulting effect on bank liquidity. 
    • But for now, the clock is ticking as the Brokered Deposit Notice of Proposed Rulemaking officially hit the Federal Register today with comments due by 10/22/24. ⌛
  • And here you go….  The CFPB website for their Nonbank Registry (NBR) is up and includes a Filing Instructions Guide as well as Key Dates / Implementation Submission periods.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Lettuce Financial (tax and accounting platform for solopreneurs) raised $15M in Series A funding round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• More foodie stuff…  Uncle Sean absolutely LOVES Hatch Chile Peppers🌶️!  Not just the taste, but the embedded offering into so many other products (Hatch Chile Pepper cheese, Hatch tamales, Hatch sausage, etc.) – I love it all!!!  But mostly, it’s the season that I associate with increased happiness and excitement.  Hatch peppers are only available a few months ever year (think McRib – LOL) and begin to hit the grocery stores in late August as they ripen.  In Texas, this is also the beginning of the end of the summer heat (cooler days ahead); the beginning of football; the beginning of Dove Season; and the gateway to fall.  It’s almost like a breath of fresh air or a new beginning after surviving the brutally hot Texas summer – with ample amounts of gatherings of family, friends, and food ahead.  What’s not to love?!?!
  • So you can imagine my excitement when I ran across this article in Food & Wine called What Makes Hatch Chiles So Special – along with some nice recipes.  Some cool points:
    • Hatch chiles come from the Hatch Valley in southern New Mexico, which stretches along the Rio Grande river from Arrey to Rincon. A former floodplain, the Hatch Valley’s nutrient-rich soil and fluctuating temperatures are considered ideal for growing perfect peppers.
    • Developed in the 20th century, horticulturist Fabián García and his students (at what is now New Mexico State University in Las Cruces) used the plants to develop modern New Mexico chiles, featuring a more consistent size and tamer heat.
    • The chiles are planted in April and harvested starting in August through the first frost, usually in November.
• 🏈 This Saturday at 11AM CDT, #10 ranked Florida State takes on Georgia Tech in the college football season’s kickoff game from Dublin. FSU is coming off a 13-1 season that saw it “controversially” left out of last season’s College Football Playoff, but embarrassingly crushed in the Dec 2023 Orange Bowl with a 63-3 “butt-whoopin” by #6 Georgia due to more than two dozen FSU players opting out or transferring…  We’ll see if FSU looks to make statement in the season opener or not...  ESPN College GameDay will be there too beginning at 8AM CDT.
• Oh yeah – here are the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week:
  • Whoever said money can’t buy happiness clearly hasn’t been bonded out of jail before! 😲😂
  • In the spirit of the Paris Olympics….  What do you call a nervous Javelin thrower…?  Shakespear…. 🙄
  • What did the horse say when he fell over?  “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t giddyup!!!” 🐎🤠
  • What do you get when you cross the Atlantic with the Titanic…???  About halfway… 😧

 
 
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.