Happy New Year’s Eve!!!!
Wow – and we thought last week was a light week! I think everyone is just laying low trying to exit 2020 as quietly as possible (there is no need to poke the bear). Anyhoo – here is the last Uncle Sean Update of 2020: Stimulus Package (stop me if you’ve heard this one before - LOL) was signed into law late Sunday evening despite President Trump’s push for higher direct payments. There was a subsequent attempt to increase the direct payments to individuals from $600 to $2,000 early this week that passed with majority through the House but has stalled out at the Senate as other items were tied into the bill. Fintech firm Current has been distributing stimulus payments all week. JP Morgan Chase makes a bet on post-pandemic travel through the acquisition of cxLoyalty Group’s rewards platform that serves 70 million customers and 3,000 client and marketing partnerships. Synchrony and PayActiv join CFPB’s compliance assistance sandbox. This basically protects them for two years while developing their product provided they comply with terms of the approval. Synchrony is seeking to develop a “dual-feature credit card” that is designed for consumers with a limited or damaged credit history as a tool that can be used to establish or reestablish a favorable credit history. Basically it is a lower rate on secured card with the opportunity for eligible accountholders to graduate to unsecured use after 12 months. PayActiv received “CFPB’s sandbox approval” which states that PayActiv’s program is not credit under the Truth in Lending Act. Recall a few weeks ago where we discussed Earned Wage Access (EWA) and the clarification from the CFPB. Basically if you are dealing with the payroll provider with no recourse to the employee then you are not establishing credit (and not susceptible to Reg Z Truth in Lending requirements) – this includes companies such as PayActiv, DailyPay, Immediate, and Even. However, if you are dealing directly with the employee, then you are establishing credit. This points more towards the dreaded term “payday lender”, and includes companies such as Brigit, Dave, and Earnin. Here is the more lengthy description. OCC grants approval for LendingClub to acquire Radius Bank (Link) LendingClub still needs Federal Reserve approval to become a Bank Holding Company, but this gets them one step closer. This deal was announced in February and was expected to take 12 – 15 months to complete, so there is optimism that the process is moving along nicely and may even close ahead of original projections. Random Uncle Sean Stuff: This morning we had a thunderstorm with gusty wind, heavy rain, and 35 degree temps…. It immediately took me back to the time me, Dave, Tanner, and my son went on a guided catfishing with Tex Elliot. I guess that was almost 10 years ago now. It was so cold, wet, and ugly out; but we caught a lot of good catfish and my son pulled in a nice 20lb Blue Cat at the end of the trip for his personal best (at the time). Just in case you need this info - Blue Catfish prefer fresh shad over all other baits. However, in a pinch (shad can be difficult to find during cold weather), I have had pretty good success using boneless skinless chicken breast. PLEASE – don’t forget to eat black eyed peas tomorrow!!!! I like mine with Rotel and bacon. Cook it down some and it tastes a lot like Bean Dip – you’re welcome!!!! LOL Have a great weekend and please stay safe! Happy New Year everyone!!!!! Uncle Sean 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. Comments are closed.
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