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.
9PSB Reinforces Commitment to Financial Inclusion with ‘Send to Ghana’
Nigeria’s first Payment Service Bank, 9PSB, has unveiled a new cross‑border feature called Send to Ghana on its Bank9ja app. The service, built on Onafriq’s technology and the Pan‑African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), is regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. It enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money between Nigeria and Ghana faster, more securely, and at lower cost. The launch reinforces 9PSB’s mission to expand financial inclusion across West Africa.
'Carpetbagging' Out of State Banks Are a Drain on Florida's Resources
Florida’s rapid population growth is straining highways, schools, and water systems while driving an acute affordable‑housing crisis. Out‑of‑state and branchless banks are harvesting more than $200 billion in deposits from Floridians but reinvest only a fraction locally, exacerbating the shortage of...
Top US Banks Weigh Suing Federal Regulator over Crypto Banking Rules
The Bank Policy Institute (BPI), representing major lenders such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, is weighing a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) over its new national trust charter framework for crypto, payment and fintech...
Morgan Stanley Says This Undervalued Brazilian Digital Bank Can Double
Morgan Stanley launched coverage of Brazil’s digital lender Agibank, assigning an overweight rating and a $21 price target that suggests roughly 100% upside from its recent IPO price of $12. The analyst team highlighted the bank’s deep discount to peers...
Why Financial Crime Risk Assessments Matter for Governance
Financial crime risk assessments are positioned as the cornerstone of a bank’s AML and CTF framework, providing both diagnostic insight and a roadmap for control enhancements. Regulators treat them as the structural foundation of compliance, while board members rely on...
New Briefing Note: PSD3 and PSR: From Provisional Agreement to 2026 Readiness
The European Commission has reached a provisional agreement on the Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and the accompanying Payment Services Regulation (PSR), setting a roadmap toward full implementation by 2026. The new rules broaden the definition of payment service providers, tighten...
Capitec’s Innovation Enables Smart ID Access at Scale
Capitec has launched an in‑branch Smart ID service in partnership with South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, deploying self‑service terminals that let clients apply for a Smart ID in under five minutes. The pilot has moved to a phased national rollout, targeting...
It's a Wonderful Life (as Long as You've Got a Job)
A new Federal Reserve study of U.S. bank failures from the Civil War through 1934 finds that bank runs are typically the final trigger for already insolvent institutions, while well‑capitalized banks can weather runs. Meanwhile, the latest macro data show...
Navi Technologies Swings to Red with Rs 126 Cr Loss in FY25
Navi Technologies posted an Rs 126 crore loss for FY25, a marked improvement from the Rs 358.5 crore loss a year earlier, despite an 18% jump in revenue to Rs 2,565 crore. Interest income, which makes up 85% of total revenue, rose 21% while other income...
HELOC and Home Equity Loan Rates Monday, March 9, 2026: Got a Low Rate? Now Consider This.
Home equity line of credit (HELOC) rates average 7.20% and fixed home‑equity loan rates 7.47% for borrowers with 780+ credit scores and CLTV under 70%. Rates vary widely, with some lenders offering introductory HELOC rates as low as 5.99% for...
Best Money Market Account Rates Today, March 9, 2026 (Earn up to 4.01% APY)
Money‑market accounts are still delivering double‑digit yields, with TotalBank Online topping the list at 4.01% APY for balances of $2,500 or more. Several online banks and credit unions, including Quontic, Brilliant Bank and Northern Bank Direct, offer 4% APY, while...
Best High-Yield Savings Interest Rates Today, March 9, 2026 (Earn up to 4% APY)
High‑yield savings accounts are offering up to 4 % APY as of March 9, 2026, with SoFi and Valley Bank Direct leading the market. The Federal Reserve’s three rate cuts in 2025 have pushed overall deposit rates lower, making premium yields increasingly scarce....
Mortgage and Refinance Interest Rates Today, March 9, 2026: Moving Higher with Bond Market Anxiety
Mortgage rates rose on March 9, with the average 30‑year fixed climbing to 5.98% and the 15‑year fixed to 5.50%, driven by bond market anxiety from Middle East tensions and a weak jobs report. Refinance rates are higher, with the 30‑year...
Why Do Banks Fail? Study Finds Insolvency Is the True Killer
A new NBER study of over 4,000 bank runs from 1863‑1934 finds that insolvency, not liquidity, is the primary driver of bank failures. Solvent institutions rarely collapsed even when faced with massive withdrawals, while loss‑making banks turned runs into terminal...
Top AML and Identity Verification APIs for Compliance in 2026
Financial institutions are turning to AML and identity verification APIs to meet escalating regulatory demands and combat sophisticated fraud. In 2025, FBI reports over 5,100 account‑takeover complaints costing more than $262 million, underscoring the urgency. Providers such as AiPrise, ComplyAdvantage, Sumsub,...
PAY360 2026: Shaping the Future of Payments
PAY360 2026, the premier global payments conference, will be held on 24–25 March 2026 at ExCeL London. The event expects more than 6,000 innovators, thought leaders and industry stakeholders, with over 200 speakers covering topics such as crypto, open payments,...
Land Bank Tightens Security After Ransomware Attack
The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa confirmed a ransomware attack on 12 January 2026 that encrypted parts of its server environment and several laptops. The breach entered through a vulnerable internet‑facing server, but the bank’s core banking, ERP and...
Novobanco Partners Feedzai to Modernise AML and Fraud
Novobanco has entered a multi‑year partnership with Feedzai to overhaul its anti‑money‑laundering (AML) and fraud defenses using Feedzai’s AI‑native platform. The initiative consolidates fragmented compliance tools into a single, intelligence‑driven system that merges KYC, AML and fraud functions. Advanced watchlist...
Share Buyback Programme - Week 10
Ringkjøbing Landbobank reported its week‑10 share buyback results, repurchasing 127,500 shares at an average price of DKK 1,642, amounting to DKK 209.4 million. The cumulative buyback now totals 1,235,647 shares, representing 4.87% of the bank’s share capital. The programme, approved on 30 January 2026, allows...
Robinhood Unveils $695 Platinum Credit Card Made With Real Platinum to Target Affluent Users
Robinhood announced a new premium credit card priced at $695 annually, crafted from real platinum. The card is aimed at the platform's affluent clientele and bundles higher rewards, concierge assistance, and travel protections. By introducing a tangible luxury product, Robinhood...
Broadridge’s DLR Platform Processes Average of $362bn in Daily Repo Transactions in Feb 2026
Broadridge Financial Solutions reported that its Distributed Ledger Repo (DLR) platform processed an average of $362 billion in daily repo transactions in February 2026, amounting to $6.9 trillion for the month. This represents a 457% year‑over‑year increase, underscoring rapid institutional adoption of...
Swiggy, HDFC Bank Launch Two New Co-Branded Credit Cards with up to ₹48,000 Annual Savings
Swiggy and HDFC Bank introduced two co‑branded credit cards—the Swiggy BLCK and Swiggy Ornge—on March 7, expanding a partnership that began in 2023. The BLCK card targets premium spenders with 10% cashback on Swiggy orders and up to 5% on entertainment,...
Banc of California Makes a Payments Push
Banc of California is accelerating its payments strategy by hiring industry veteran Chris Healy to lead its merchant acquiring platform, BancEdge. The bank aims to broaden the platform across existing and new commercial clients, emphasizing real‑time, AI‑driven payment capabilities. Healy’s...
Morningstar DBRS Posts Securitisation Insights Podcast Episode 40 on Synthetic SRTs: From Capital Relief to Key Risks
Morningstar DBRS released episode 40 of its Securitisation Insights podcast, featuring Mudasar Chaudhry, Andre Soutinho and Nicola De Caro discussing synthetic Significant Risk Transfer (SRT) transactions in Europe. The hosts explained how synthetic SRTs let banks shift credit risk to...
Hong Kong Regulators Widen GenA.I. Sandbox Across Financial Services
Hong Kong’s financial regulators have broadened the GenA.I. Sandbox into a cross‑sector programme called GenA.I. Sandbox++, covering securities, asset management, insurance, pensions and stored‑value facilities. Launched on March 5 by the HKMA, SFC, Insurance Authority and MPFA in partnership with Cyberport,...
SARB Rules Out Rate Cuts, Hikes Possible Amid Tensions
South Africa is an oil-importing economy. The South African Reserve Bank is indirectly telling you that interest rate cuts are now off the table, and that if the tension in the Middle East continues, then interest rate hikes can’t be...
Multiple Payments for Card Bill Frustrates Users
well that's just rude.. having to make multiple payments to pay the monthly card bill is all a bit much - thanks BPAY.. not.. https://t.co/6MGklFKw4O
Banking, Technology, and Instability
The article warns that the rapid rise of banking‑as‑a‑service (BaaS) is reshaping the traditional bank‑IT outsourcing model by having fintech firms outsource core banking functions to partner banks. While BaaS promises faster, cheaper digital experiences, it operates in a regulatory...
The Broker Is the Backbone of American Homeownership
Independent mortgage brokers are a critical access point for American homebuyers, especially first‑time, self‑employed, and credit‑challenged borrowers. Unlike retail loan officers, brokers can shop dozens of lenders to secure the best rates and programs. The National Association of Mortgage Brokers...
The Payment Revolution: How Asia Buys, Pays and Lives in 2026
Asia’s payment landscape is evolving toward AI‑driven agentic commerce, where conversational prompts replace traditional searches and agents act on behalf of shoppers. Embedded payment methods—QR codes, contactless taps, and account‑to‑account rails—now span digital, physical and hybrid environments, turning every interaction...
BYD Has Fallen to One Third of China Sales Compared to 1 Year Ago
Chinese EV maker BYD saw its February 2026 domestic sales tumble to roughly 90,000 units, a 65% year‑over‑year decline. In the same period, Geely sold about 206,000 cars, extending its lead over BYD to more than 76,000 units for the...
Irish Banks Launch P2P Payments Service
Ireland’s three largest retail banks—AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB—are rolling out Zippay, a peer‑to‑peer mobile payment service developed by Nexi, starting 10 March. The app, embedded directly within each bank’s existing mobile platform, will initially reach a potential user base...
Heritage Commerce Corp (HTBK) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Heritage Commerce Corp reported a strong deposit surge of $160.7 million in Q4 2025, with 95% of the growth coming from non‑maturity accounts, while loan balances slipped $37 million due to higher payoffs. Net interest margin rose to 3.44% as funding costs...
How To Use Citi AAdvantage Globe Card Admirals Club Globe Passes
American Airlines’ Citi AAdvantage Globe Mastercard offers a $350 annual fee paired with four annual Admirals Club Globe Passes. The passes load automatically into the airline’s mobile app, grant 24‑hour lounge access for the primary cardholder and a guest, and require a...
As Middle East Conflict Rages, DBS Urges SMEs to Hedge at Least Half Their FX Exposure – Not Time the...
DBS is urging Singapore‑based SMEs to hedge at least half of their foreign‑exchange exposure amid heightened volatility from the Middle‑East conflict. The bank’s SecureFX facility, which lets companies lock in rates up to US$1 million without credit lines, is already used...
DORA Raises the Bar on Operational Resilience
The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) has been in force since January 2025, obligating financial services firms to retain operational control during severe IT incidents, not merely avoid failures. While many institutions have bolstered continuity and cyber‑response capabilities, a Veeam‑commissioned...
EU Court Adviser Says Banks Must Immediately Refund Phishing Victims
Advocate General Athanasios Rantos of the EU Court of Justice issued an opinion that banks must instantly refund victims of unauthorized phishing transactions under the EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2), unless they have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud. The opinion...
Spreedly Activates Agentic Commerce Channel
Spreedly announced the launch of an agentic commerce channel that lets AI‑driven agents initiate transactions through merchants’ existing payment service provider relationships while the merchant remains the record of sale. The new channel runs on Spreedly’s open payments platform, preserving...
What Are Offline Payments? How to Accept Them
Offline payments let retailers accept card transactions when the internet drops by storing encrypted payment data on the POS device until connectivity returns. Shopify POS offers this capability for up to 24 hours, giving merchants a safety net during outages at...
High Rates Squeeze Private Credit, Raising Borrowers’ Cost
Private credit is in a strange place today. The economy is tied to the cost of money. Low interest rates mean cheap borrowing, which in theory should lead to higher utilization of credit facilities. Conversely, high interest rates mean less affordable...
Authorized Users Earn Loyalty Points on Citi Business Card
Citi's American business credit card has a unique perk, whereby authorized users earn Loyalty Points toward status, rather than just the primary cardmember. Here's how this policy works. https://t.co/jxeD3WsBMF
SumUp Expands Form3 Partnership to Bring Real-Time SEPA Payments to Millions of European SMEs
SumUp announced an expanded partnership with cloud‑native payments platform Form3 to power real‑time SEPA Instant, Credit Transfer and Direct Debit across Europe. The move extends the existing UK‑focused integration, giving SumUp’s 4 million merchants in 37 countries access to instant European...
XRP Poised as Bridge for BlackRock’s ETF Tokenization
Analyst Breaks Down Theory On BlackRock's XRP Play Context: 1,700 iShares ETFs globally, $3.6T in US alone. If BlackRock tokenizes even 5-20% of ETF assets on-chain, that's hundreds of billions needing settlement rails. XRP positioned as "killer bridge for TradFi and...
Banking Stocks Crash as Economy Slows, Iran Sparks Bubble Burst
Iran may end up being the Pin that pricked the bubble, but the Banking and Financial Sector Stocks are Crashing equity markets as the impact of a slowing economy and the US private credit market takes hold- Hindi Video... https://t.co/sOz3SepGUO via...
Fideo Intelligence Expands Dark Web Monitoring
Fideo Intelligence has broadened its dark‑web monitoring to deliver early‑stage fraud signals for banks, fintechs, PSPs and merchants. The upgraded service surfaces synthetic identity creation, account takeovers and credential‑replay attacks before they reach a transaction. Integrated into its Verify and...
AI Will First Upend Math‑heavy, Quantitative Jobs
The next wave of AI disruption may hit unexpected professions first. Peter Thiel suggests roles built around mathematics and quantitative analysis could be more exposed than language-heavy work. Banks are already hinting that advances in AI could mean leaner teams in finance....
Banks Overestimate AI Satisfaction; Prioritize Resolution Over Chit‑Chat
90% of banks think customers are satisfied with AI interactions. Only 59% of customers agree. Banks are optimizing for realism. Customers want resolution. Wrong metric, wrong investment. Why Your Voice AI Strategy Needs to Prioritize Resolution Over Chit-Chat https://t.co/ywMtrISq9g
DLocal and Open English Introduce Bre-B Instant Payments to Eliminate Checkout Friction in Colombia
dLocal and Open English have launched Bre‑B, Colombia’s government‑backed real‑time payment rail, as an instant checkout option for the e‑learning platform. The integration lets students pay via bank‑linked llaves or QR codes, confirming transactions in seconds and eliminating the need...
Stablecoins Enable $68M Transfer in 30
A corporate treasury transfer just happened at blockchain speed. Circle shifted $68 million between its own entities in about 30 minutes using its stablecoin infrastructure, replacing bank wires that usually take days. Programmable money is starting to change how companies move capital....
Credit Unions Excel by Executing Fintech Partnerships and AI
Strategy decks are everywhere in banking. Execution is where most institutions struggle. Jesus Garcia of @OceanAir_CU discusses what’s actually working in the credit union sector right now, from fintech partnerships to AI adoption. Watch the full episode, sponsored by @Q2_Software: //youtu.be/tGaZ5ZueuVs