Today's Banking Pulse
Mortgage refinance demand falls 18% as rates climb to 6.65%
Refinance applications dropped 18% week-over-week, with the average 30-year fixed rate rising to 6.65%, the highest since August 2025. Refinance filings now represent just 38% of total mortgage applications, the lowest share since June 2025, while purchase‑loan volume edged down 0.4% and average loan size hit $473,600.
Scott: Yield Compromise Could Arrive by the End of the Week
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott said a compromise on the crypto market‑structure bill could be in hand by the end of the week. The dispute centers on banks’ demand to bar crypto firms from offering yield‑like rewards on stablecoins, which they argue could siphon deposits. Crypto firms argue such incentives are essential for competition and user growth. Without a deal, the legislation faces a tough path through both the Senate and the House, despite broader efforts to expand banks’ digital‑asset activities.
IMB Profits Drop Sharply Even as Volume Surges in Q4
Non‑bank mortgage lenders reported a sharp 44% decline in net production profit per loan in Q4 2025, falling to $674 from $1,201 a quarter earlier, even as origination volume rose to $643 million per company. The industry’s profit margin slipped to 17...
Umba
Umba, a Kenya‑based digital bank targeting underserved African consumers, has raised $5 million to expand its vehicle and SME lending operations in Kenya. The platform already offers free checking accounts, instant peer‑to‑peer transfers, and credit products through a mobile‑first experience. By...
FDIC Mulling Guardrails for Banks, Public Blockchains
The FDIC has rolled back its 2022 guidance that limited banks from interacting with public, permissionless blockchains, signaling a more permissive stance under Chair Travis Hill. Hill indicated that while the agency will focus on implementing the GENIUS Act, it...
UBS Nears Full Credit Suisse Integration by Finishing IT Project
UBS has finished migrating roughly 1.2 million former Credit Suisse clients onto its own platforms, marking a pivotal step in the three‑year integration that began after the 2023 rescue acquisition. The bank now enters the final integration phase, focusing on decommissioning...
Robot Money Will Redefine All Financial Services
The Marchine Payments Protocol @mpp shows you again, and again, where the world is going Everyone, from @stripe to @coinbase to @Shopify to @Mastercard and @Visa and @ethereum wants to be robot money Assume we arrive there. What do financial services look...
Global Fintech Thunes Launches Stablecoin Payouts for Banks via Swift Connectivity
Thunes announced that its Pay‑to‑Stablecoin‑Wallets service now reaches roughly 11,500 banks through existing SWIFT connections, allowing instant payouts to stablecoin wallets without new technical integration. The offering supports major stablecoins such as USDC and USDT across more than 140 countries...
PayPal Introduces Stablecoin PYUSD to Users Across 70 Markets
PayPal has launched its dollar‑backed stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), in 70 international markets, allowing users to buy, hold, send and receive the token directly within their PayPal accounts. The stablecoin is issued by Paxos Trust Company and fully collateralized with U.S....
ECB Approves Tokenized Assets as Central Bank Collateral
YES BUT: ECB paves way for acceptance of DLT-based assets as eligible Eurosystem collateral 1. The Collateral Conundrum: "Eligibility vs. Scale" The ECB Move (Demand): By accepting DLT-based assets as collateral for credit operations, the ECB has given tokenized assets the...
Refinance Boom Stalls as Rate Shock Jolts Mortgage Market Into Retreat
Mortgage refinance demand stalled in mid‑March as the 30‑year fixed rate jumped to 6.30%, the highest level since December 2025. The MBA’s weekly survey showed total applications down 10.9% and the refinance index falling 19% week‑over‑week, while purchase applications edged up...
The Naked Stress Test
The European Central Bank’s 2024 geopolitical‑risk reverse stress test asks banks to start with a worst‑case loss—three percentage points of their capital ratio—and work backwards to identify the geopolitical shock that could cause it. For BNP Paribas, that means roughly €20 billion...
Digital Bank OakNorth Reports YoY Increase in Gross Originations with Considerable US Activity
OakNorth reported a pre‑tax profit of £223 million for 2025 and saw new loan originations jump 33% to £2.8 billion. The United States contributed 40% of fresh lending, underscoring rapid market penetration since its 2023 entry. Credit quality remained exceptional, with cumulative...
From Attention to Intention: Building the Machine Payments Protocol
Every ad impression, every recommendation algorithm, every retargeting pixel — all of it monetizes the space where human intent is unclear. Agents collapse that space to zero. An agent arrives with a mandate. Get me X. Budget Y. Constraints Z. - No attention...
Revision of State Aid Rules for Banks in Difficulty
On 17 March 2026 the European Commission launched a Call for Evidence to revise the EU State aid rules for banks in difficulty, aligning them with the revised Crisis Management and Deposit Insurance (CMDI) framework expected in Q2 2026. The existing rules predate...
The Fate of Agentic Commerce Hinges on an Elusive Resource: Trust
In this episode, Rima Katz and experts from FinScan and Javelin Strategy discuss how trust in payments is shifting from post‑transaction reassurance to real‑time verification, especially as agentic AI begins to act on behalf of consumers. They explore the technical...
How Business Lending Culture Lost Its Way
The piece argues that alternative business lending has drifted from fueling growth to becoming a lifeline for struggling SMEs. Over 90% of surveyed firms use loans to cover rent, payroll or existing debt rather than to expand, turning credit into...
Postbank Becomes Licensed Financial Services Provider
South Africa’s Postbank has been granted a licence by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority to provide financial advice and intermediary services under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. The regulatory approval, welcomed by Deputy Minister Mondli Gungubele and parliamentary...
Tech Disruption as a Day Job - Lloyds Banking Group CEO Charles Nunn on AI, Digital Transformation, and Why His...
Lloyds Banking Group says its digital bank has expanded by 50%, now serving 23 million digitally active retail customers who generate roughly 7 billion interactions annually. The group has hired 9,000 new engineering and tech staff and already runs 800 AI models,...
Closing the Gap: Theta Lake’s Reconciliation Tools
Regulatory frameworks across the US, Canada, Europe and the CFTC impose strict record‑retention periods, ranging from one to seven years, leaving firms little margin for missing communications. Gaps in data ingestion trigger regulator scrutiny and can signal heightened operational risk....
SA Banks Escalate Digital Push to Gain Market Share
South Africa’s major banks are intensifying a digital arms race, using mobile‑first platforms and AI to capture market share. PwC’s Major Banks Analysis shows combined earnings rose 9.4 % to R152.5 billion in 2025, supported by disciplined cost control and strong non‑interest...
Credit Union Common Bond Reform
The UK government plans to amend the credit‑union common‑bond rules across England, Scotland and Wales. The locality bond membership cap will rise from three to ten million, and new eligibility categories will include students, relatives outside the household, and retirees....
IRS, FATCA and CRS: The Latest RegTech Compliance News
Comply Exchange’s February 2026 roundup flags key FATCA, CRS, and IRS filing deadlines for financial institutions. Bahamas AEOI participants must submit FATCA/CRS data by March 31, 2026, while U.S. Form 1042 and 1042‑S filings closed on March 16, 2026. The IRS announced the FIRE system will...
IQ Interview with David Bailey
The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority has finalized its Basel 3.1 framework, slated to take effect at the start of 2027. In an IQ interview, executive director David Bailey highlighted the need for global regulatory consistency while acknowledging the challenges...
How Trump Is Turning Fair Lending Law on Its Head
The Trump administration is dismantling core fair‑lending protections by targeting the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Housing Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and the Section 1071 small‑business data rule. An executive order eliminates the disparate‑impact theory, while the CFPB proposes to...
African Banks Face a Long Road to Lower Financed Emissions
African banks are beginning to measure financed emissions using the PCAF methodology, with Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB) leading the effort in the region. While South Africa and Kenya have made notable progress in ESG integration, more than 80% of...
Bank of England Interest Rate Decision: What to Expect on 19 March
The Bank of England will announce its March 19 interest‑rate decision, weighing whether to keep the Bank Rate at 3.75% or trim it by 25 basis points to 3.50%. A narrow 5‑4 vote in February highlighted deep divisions within the...
Understanding Sanction Compliance: Blocked Property and Rejected Transactions for Financial Institutions
Sanction compliance is essential for financial institutions operating internationally, requiring senior‑level commitment, risk assessments, and ongoing controls. Regulators such as OFAC mandate detailed reporting of blocked assets and rejected transfers, each with specific data fields and tight deadlines. Institutions must...
Retail Shifts to Banking Amid Margin Pressure
𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 Pepkor Holdings stepping into financial services tells me two things: 1️⃣ Landscape is getting competitive 2️⃣ Retail margins are under pressure To achieve margin expansion, retail is shifting into banking, further fueling financialization. 𝗡𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀, SA’s banking/fintech space is...
Refinance Demand Drops 19% as Rates Surge
#Mortgage refinance demand plunges 19% after interest rates shoot higher https://t.co/qypWBX8GTm @mortgagenewsmnd @MBAMortgage #realestate #realestateinvesting #housing
Non-QM Solutions: Helping Self-Employed Borrowers Navigate Modern Lending
Non‑QM products, especially bank‑statement loans, are filling a financing gap for self‑employed borrowers whose income patterns defy conventional underwriting. By evaluating cash deposits rather than taxable income, these loans capture true cash flow and enable credit access with higher down‑payment...
Deposit Insurance Deep Dive Recorded at Cato Institute
Podcasting at the @CatoInstitute headquarters with @EconWithNick & @norbertjmichel was just the coolest as we talk about deposit insurance.
Neobanks Fuel Hiring Surge While Entering New Markets
Neobanks expanding into new markets, Source: CB Insights, Mar 2026 Fintech hiring is happening as neobanks continue to expand with different strategies https://t.co/qKcdGMmycZ https://t.co/rO2bQPQw7W
FinTech Australia Launches New Data Horizons Summit to Spotlight Real-World Open Banking Impact
FinTech Australia announced the inaugural Data Horizons Summit, a one‑day event on 8 May 2026 in Sydney. The summit builds on its successful Consumer Data Right and Net Zero gatherings, highlighting that more than one million Australians now use open‑banking...
Practical Payment Innovations Target Real‑World Impact at MPE2026
Getting the afternoon underway at #MPE2026 in Berlin with a discussion about areas where practical innovation in payments might produce decent results. https://t.co/kb8dX1tuWo
Banks Must Anticipate Branching Trends to Thrive
The banks that succeed will be those that understand where branching is going and adapt early. Strategy informed by trends leads to better service and stronger institutions. https://t.co/jv4QFxFbyK
CFPB Cuts Dull Impact of Trump's Latest Order, MBA Exec Says
President Trump issued an executive order aimed at expanding home‑lending opportunities for community financial institutions with assets under $100 million. Mortgage Bankers Association President Bob Broeksmit praised the intent but warned that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s reduced staffing will slow...
AI Revolutionizes Bank Lending, Says AFT Analytics CEO
[New Episode] AI Is Finally Fixing the Way Banks Lend Money. Interview with Wije Wijegoonaratna, CEO of @aftanalytics. Watch the latest episode now: https://t.co/xKHOgVkcA9 https://t.co/MfWWCseBft
AI-Driven Payments Reshape Traditional Finance and European Sovereignty
Two sessions today at #MPE2026 with my @chyppings hat on: Agentic Commerce & Payments - AI-to-AI payments and what this new frontier means for 'traditional' players. Payment Acceptance: Sovereignty & Geopolitics - Resilience, regulation and Europe’s payment sovereignty agenda.
FinAi Banking Summit Unveiled, Showcasing AI‑Driven Transformations Across Banks
FinAi announced a new Banking Summit on March 18, 2026, dedicated to AI‑driven innovations in the financial sector. The event, slated for later this year, will feature case studies from Launch Credit Union’s 75% automation of account openings, Nordea’s staff‑cutting...
Thunes Links Stablecoin Payouts to 11,500 Banks via Existing SWIFT Network
On March 18, 2026, Thunes announced a partnership that lets 11,500 banks receive stable‑coin payouts using the existing SWIFT infrastructure, merging legacy finance with digital‑asset technology.
Bank of Canada Set to Reveal Overnight Rate Decision on March 18, 2026
On March 18, 2026, the Bank of Canada will publish its scheduled overnight rate decision in a national press release. The announcement, expected to shape Canadian financial markets, follows the central bank’s ongoing mandate to promote economic stability and keep...
Australia’s Big Four Banks Raise Mortgage Rates After RBA’s 0.25% Cash‑Rate Hike
On March 17, 2026, Australia’s four major banks—National Australia Bank, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac—announced immediate increases to mortgage and deposit rates after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.1%. The hikes,...
RBA Hikes Cash Rate to 4.1% as Middle East War Fuels Inflation Fears
On March 17, 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) voted 5‑4 to raise its cash‑rate target by 25 basis points to 4.1%, up from 3.85%. Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser warned that high inflation was "toxic" and that the war...
Sub-4% Fixed Rate Mortgages Disappear From the Market
Sub‑4% fixed‑rate mortgages have vanished from the UK market as major banks withdrew the last remaining two‑ and five‑year products in early March. The pull‑back follows a wave of lender repricing driven by rising swap rates and heightened margin concerns....
Liquidity Faces a Bit of Squeeze as Rs 2 Lakh Crore Flows to Tax Kitty
India's banking system liquidity surplus shrank to ₹75,483 crore after a ₹2 lakh crore advance‑tax outflow, pushing overnight money‑market rates to 5.31 %. The RBI responded with a 7‑day variable‑rate repo, but attracted only ₹48,014 crore in bids. Simultaneously, the central bank sold over $15 billion...
Commission Guidance Beats Staff Letters in Enforceability
🧵This is #sec #cftc commission-level guidance, not staff-level, which makes it more enforceable than the statements and no-action letters the Crypto Task Force has been issuing since January. That is meaningful distinction. Staff guidance can be withdrawn or walked back...
Banking Leaders Must Keep Learning or Risk Stagnation
The biggest risk for banking leaders today is not disruption. It is standing still. In this episode, I discussed why continuous learning is the key to staying relevant in a rapidly changing industry. Watch the full episode: https://t.co/niO7fXOQML https://t.co/ypX1PHvuCB
UBS Faced Technology Outage That Impacted Trading Business
UBS Group AG suffered a global technology outage on Tuesday that forced a halt to portions of its trading business. The bank quickly identified the root cause and deployed a fix, allowing systems to recover. The disruption arrived amid heightened...
![Issue With Product Changed Citi Strata Elite Splurge Credits [Credits Posting]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://www.doctorofcredit.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/citi-deal.webp)
Issue With Product Changed Citi Strata Elite Splurge Credits [Credits Posting]
Citi has confirmed a processing error that prevents product‑change cardholders from receiving the advertised up to $200 Splurge credits on the Strata Elite card. The glitch appears tied to an incomplete merchant identifier, meaning only those who switched to the...
Banks' Legacy Costs Stall AI Innovation
Lots of corporate dollars still go to maintaining legacy systems. It's hard to redirect that spend to new AI work. Banks feeling it, and not yet delivering the (AI) products that customers want ... https://t.co/N4HWKA2UML