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.
Why Banks Need ‘Sleepy’ Customers
Harvard Business School researchers document that U.S. depositors are remarkably inert, with only 5‑15% opening a new account each year. Their working paper shows that this “sleepy” behavior accounts for roughly 58% of a bank’s deposit franchise value, dampening competition and allowing higher mark‑ups, especially in low‑concentration markets. The model also links depositor inertia to systemic stability, estimating that two major money‑center banks would have faced over a 20% default probability without sleepy deposits. The findings are highlighted in HBS Working Knowledge.
Bank Fights Fed to Offer Cash Guarantee Mortgages
Canandaigua National Corp., a New York bank, is challenging a Federal Reserve Board denial of its cash‑guarantee mortgage program in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The proposed scheme would have the bank purchase a seller’s home when a...
Fannie Mae's Portfolio Surge Is the Biggest in over a Decade
Fannie Mae’s retained portfolio surged to $168.74 billion in March, marking the largest monthly increase since 2009 and the highest level since the Great Financial Crisis. The $18.3 billion jump lifted combined GSE retained assets to $308.5 billion, a peak not seen since early 2021....
Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab Are Rushing Into Crypto: What Do They See Coming?
Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab are rolling out direct crypto trading within their brokerage platforms, aiming to capture the trading revenue and client data that currently flow to pure‑play exchanges. Schwab already commands roughly 20% of U.S. spot crypto ETP...
Do Banks Still Need to Validate GenAI Models?
U.S. banks rolled out Microsoft Copilot and other generative AI tools at unprecedented speed, classifying them as productivity software to bypass the traditional SR 11‑7 model‑validation regime. Regulators responded by replacing SR 11‑7 with SR 26‑2, explicitly excluding GenAI models from mandatory validation....
CPMI-IOSCO Consult on Updated Guidance and Public Disclosures to Implement Initial Margin Proposals
On 6 May 2026 the BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and IOSCO launched a consultation on amending the CCP resilience guidance and the public quantitative disclosure standards (PQDs). The proposals embed Basel Committee recommendations on initial‑margin transparency,...
Capital Reform Push Could Restore Wall Street’s Edge in Global Markets
The Federal Reserve has proposed rolling back capital requirements for the largest U.S. banks, cutting aggregate buffers by roughly 5%. The change aims to free balance‑sheet capacity, allowing banks to expand market‑making and reclaim business lost to non‑bank firms. Analysts...
Barclays Select Savings W/ AARP: $400 Bonus on $40,000 Deposit (+4% APY)
Barclays Bank Delaware’s Select Savings account, available through its AARP Digital Banking program, offers a flat 4.00% APY on all balances. New AARP members who deposit at least $40,000 receive a $400 bonus after meeting a 30‑day funding window and...
Fincra Expands Into Ghana’s Payments Market
Fintech firm Fincra announced on May 6 2026 that it obtained an Enhanced Payment Service Provider licence from the Bank of Ghana, granting it direct, regulated access to the country’s payment ecosystem. The licence allows the company to process transactions across mobile‑money...
Let’s Be Honest: Retail Banking Is Broken
Retail banking in the UK has shed half its branch network, with over 6,000 closures since 2015 and 15,000 free ATMs disappearing since 2018. Yet a YouGov survey shows 31% of adults—and even 21% of Gen Z—still rely on physical branches,...
Public Bank Leads Malaysian Banking Rally, Earnings Outlook Strong
Malaysian banks up today. Seeing plenty of buying interest. Financial Service index highest since end-March. All banks still below pre-War level (except AM). Best performer is Public Bank +3% to RM4.94, highest in almost 2 months. •1Q earnings release on 12...
Banks in the Age of Stablecoins: Lessons From Their Historical Responses to Financial Innovations
Stablecoins now command a market cap of roughly $200‑$300 billion and settle trillions of dollars annually, prompting the GENIUS Act to treat them alongside money‑market funds for Treasury demand. While analysts warn of deposit substitution and credit‑supply shocks, the note argues...
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses FinCEN, OFAC Proposed Rule on Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions-Compliance Requirements
On April 8, 2026 FinCEN and OFAC issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) to implement the GENIUS Act’s framework for payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs). The NPR clarifies AML/CFT and sanctions‑compliance duties, distinguishing primary‑market activities—where PPSIs must conduct CDD,...
China Asks Banks to Pause New Loans to US-Sanctioned Refiners
China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration has instructed the nation’s largest banks to temporarily suspend new yuan‑denominated loans to five refiners sanctioned by the United States for alleged Iranian oil ties, including major private player Hengli Petrochemical. The directive allows banks...
Banking Technology Magazine May 2026 Issue Out Now
Banking Technology Magazine's May 2026 issue highlights a wave of restructuring across fintech and banking. PayPal announced a reorganization into three divisions, targeting $1.5 billion in savings and cutting about 4,750 jobs (20% of its workforce). Coinbase plans a 14% workforce reduction...
Banks Hedge XRP Risk with Pre‑Negotiated Contracts
High XRP prices are not a problem for banks. They write it off under Section 179 as infrastructure or software. Beyond that, most already locked in pre-negotiated contracts with Ripple. Over 1,700 NDAs reportedly signed. Those agreements let institutions buy...
Join Canada FinTech Symposium: Open Banking, AI, Digital Finance
Less than two weeks until the Canada FinTech Symposium 2026! If Open Banking, AI, and digital finance are part of your 2026 strategy, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. Register Now 👉 https://t.co/ClXiwMnrfL @chyppings @CanadaSymp70327 https://t.co/BdNJ0ZlIK4
Walker & Dunlop Secures $55.2 Million Construction Loan for Cleveland‑Area Mall Redevelopment
Walker & Dunlop arranged a $55.2 million floating‑rate construction loan for Phase I of Belle Oaks Marketplace, the mixed‑use redevelopment of the former Richmond Town Square Mall in Richmond Heights, Ohio. The financing, provided by Genesis Capital on behalf of DealPoint Merrill, will...
BNY Mellon Deepens Crypto Foothold in Abu Dhabi
BNY Mellon just expanded its crypto services in Abu Dhabi. The world’s biggest custody bank is now going deeper into digital assets in the Middle East. TradFi adoption keeps on growing. 🚀 https://t.co/3vHekGV0FY
Newmark Secures $150.9 M Loan for $207.5 M Shallow Bay Logistics Portfolio Sale
Newmark Group arranged a $150.9 million loan from Wells Fargo to fund a $207.5 million purchase of a 1.38‑million‑square‑foot shallow‑bay logistics portfolio spanning Dallas‑Fort Worth, Chicago, Cincinnati and Indianapolis. The deal, involving a joint venture between a global asset manager and Dalfen Industrial, underscores...
Australia's National Resilience Plan Links Home Upgrades to Lower Insurance and Mortgage Costs
A coalition of insurers, banks and consumer groups, led by Finity principal Sharanjit Paddam, unveiled the Housing Resilience Action Plan 2030, proposing a National Risk and Resilience Rating System that rewards flood‑ and fire‑proof upgrades with cheaper home‑insurance premiums and...
Visa Unveils AI‑Powered Dispute Suite to Slash Fraud Losses for Banks and Merchants
Visa introduced a six‑product AI‑driven dispute resolution suite designed to reduce fraud losses and operational costs for banks, merchants and payment service providers. The suite leverages predictive analytics and generative AI, targeting the 106 million disputes Visa processed in 2025, a...
Rocket Companies Inc (RKT) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Rocket Companies posted adjusted revenue of $2.822 billion in Q1 2026, surpassing the high end of guidance, and saw adjusted EBITDA rise to $738 million, expanding margin to 26 percent. Net rate‑lock volume grew 19 percent to $49 billion, while servicing fees exceeded $1 billion, highlighting...
Santander Completes Takeover of TSB – Here's What It Means for Savers and Borrowers
Santander completed its takeover of TSB on 1 May 2026, but both banks will remain separate legal entities until regulators approve full integration. Customers keep their existing savings, current‑account, mortgage and credit‑card terms, with interest rates unchanged for now. The Financial...
Walker & Dunlop Inc (WD) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Walker & Dunlop reported a blockbuster first quarter, with total transaction volume surging 94% to $13.7 billion and revenues climbing 27% to $301 million. Diluted EPS exploded 475% to $0.46, driven by debt originations that more than doubled to $11.8 billion, led by...
Better Home & Finance Holding Co (BETR) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Better Home & Finance Holding reported Q1 2026 net income of $11.4 million, or $1.45 per share, a 6% year‑over‑year gain. Net interest margin expanded to 4.16% as funding costs fell, pushing net interest income to a record $34.5 million. Deposits rose...
TSS Inc (TSSI) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Total System Services (TSYS) reported a solid Q1 2019 performance, with total GAAP revenue of $1.03 billion, a 4.8% year‑over‑year increase, and adjusted EBITDA margin expanding 108 basis points to 36.4%. Net revenue rose across all three segments, highlighted by an...
Bob's Discount Furniture, Inc (BOBS) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
ServisFirst posted $83 million net income in Q1 2026, delivering diluted EPS of $1.52, a 33% year‑over‑year increase. Net interest margin expanded to 3.53%, up 61 basis points, supported by loan repricing and lower funding costs. Loan balances grew 7% annualized while...
Oportun Financial Corp (OPRT) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Oportun Financial reported Q1 2026 revenue of $229 million, down 3 percent, while achieving GAAP net income of $2.3 million, its sixth consecutive profitable quarter. Originations fell 11 percent, but 79 percent came from returning borrowers, improving delinquency and charge‑off metrics. The company reduced its...
How an Ohio Banker Talks with Policymakers About Stablecoin Issues
In this episode of the ABA Banking Journal podcast, retiring FC Bank president Jenny Saunders discusses her four‑decade banking career, the unique strengths of community banks versus large institutions, and her recent work with the Ohio Bankers League on regulatory...
First National Bank Alaska Announces Unaudited Results for First Quarter 2026
First National Bank Alaska posted unaudited Q1 2026 net income of $21.2 million, or $6.68 per share, up from $17.7 million a year earlier. Assets grew to $5.1 billion, while loans rose to $2.8 billion, supporting a 25‑basis‑point increase in return on assets to 1.67%....
Warren Clashes with Kevin Warsh over Assets and Fed Independence at Heated Senate Hearing
Senator Elizabeth Warren confronted Trump‑backed Fed nominee Kevin Warsh at the Senate Banking Committee hearing, demanding detailed disclosure of his more than $100 million in assets and proof of independence from the White House. Warsh, a former Fed governor, cited a...
Koho Close to Securing Banking Licence, Hopes to Launch Telco Product, CEO Says
Koho Financial, the Toronto‑based fintech with over 2.5 million users, is on the brink of securing a Schedule 1 banking licence after raising CAD 190 million (≈US 140 million) in equity and debt. The company reports more than CAD 200 million in revenue and has turned down two...
Old Glory Replaces Mercury for Easy LLC Banking
Mercury used to be the go-to but their onboarding has gotten harder. Old Glory is the current recommendation for LLC business banking. No affiliate link, no partnership, just consistently easy to work with. Most people are getting accounts there without...
Latin American Banks Expose Customers to Fraud
Banks in Latin America are so dirty (Bancolombia, specifically). Criminals use the bank's phone networks and email servers to defraud people, and the banks won't assume responsibility and reverse charges. Pretty shocking in comparison to credit cards from American banks.
![[Rumor] Chase Sapphire Reserve To Add $7.5 Discount On Apple One Subscriptions [Expanded Apple TV Benefit]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://www.doctorofcredit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/apple-tv-freebie-1.png)
[Rumor] Chase Sapphire Reserve To Add $7.5 Discount On Apple One Subscriptions [Expanded Apple TV Benefit]
A draft of new terms suggests Chase is preparing to add a $7.50 discount on Apple One for Sapphire Reserve and J.P. Morgan Reserve Personal cardholders. The benefit would require a one‑time activation on chase.com or the mobile app by...
April Payroll Deposits Hit Two‑and‑half‑year High
"Payrolls growth in Bank of America customer deposit account data was strong in April." "the highest growth in two-and-a-half years" https://t.co/YCyshtAbPV
Democrats Block Bill, Paving Way for Digital Dollar
Senate Democrats just blocked the bill that would’ve stopped the Fed from creating a CBDC. Read between the lines... They WANT a government-controlled digital dollar. Every transaction tracked. Every purchase monitored. Less financial freedom. https://t.co/8IBwE1aOwz
IMF, World Bank Reopen Venezuela’s Door to Global Markets
The IMF and World Bank have officially restored formal relations with Venezuela, ending a hiatus that began in 2019. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has asked IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva for access to the country’s $5 billion in special drawing rights to...
Credit Card Debt Growth Slows, Disproving Hassett's Forecast
FWIW, the growth in credit card debt has slowed sharply https://t.co/wbA0n3Maew That's not necessarily good or bad, but it does mean Hassett is wrong on this.
AI’s Delicate Banking Balancing Act
Banks that spent the last decade rebuilding balance sheets and navigating low‑rate environments are now confronting AI disruption. More than 90% of banks have begun AI initiatives, and S&P Global forecasts average return on equity could rise from 12% to...
Automated Financial Systems Appoints New CRO, COO and BI Chief to Drive AI Growth
Automated Financial Systems (AFS) announced three senior hires—Kevin Ryan as chief revenue officer, Amanda Hinski as chief operating officer and Janice Kwan as chief business intelligence officer. The appointments aim to accelerate AI‑enabled product expansion, deepen bank partnerships and sharpen...
Lloyds Banking Group Launches Four-Year AI Partnership to Transform Quality Engineering
Lloyds Banking Group announced a four-year research partnership with the University of Glasgow to embed agentic AI into its quality engineering workflows, marking the first large‑scale AI deployment in a regulated bank’s testing function. The program aims to validate AI...
OCBC to Acquire HSBC Indonesia Retail Banking and Wealth Business for Up to S$7.1 Bn
OCBC's Indonesian subsidiary will acquire HSBC Indonesia's International Wealth and Premier Banking business for a net asset‑based price plus a premium of up to S$0.48 bn. The deal adds 336,000 customers, S$6.6 bn (US$4.9 bn) in assets under management and is expected to...
Deutsche Bank Appoints Marie‑Jeanne Deverdun as Chief Technology, Data and Innovation Officer
Deutsche Bank has placed Marie‑Jeanne Deverdun on its executive board as Chief Technology, Data and Innovation Officer. The appointment consolidates oversight of the bank’s technology, data and innovation functions under a single leader, signaling a strategic shift toward integrated digital...
India’s Bank Credit Surges 15.9% in FY26, Driven by Services and Retail Lending
India’s scheduled commercial banks expanded non‑food credit to ₹212.9 lakh crore ($2.6 trillion) in FY26, a 15.9% year‑on‑year rise. Growth was led by services and personal‑loan segments, reflecting strong domestic demand amid low‑interest rates and a government‑backed capex push.
Payments Startup Fun Raises $72M Series A to Expand Global Blockchain Layer
FinTech startup Fun announced a $72 million Series A led by Multicoin Capital and SignalFire, bringing its blockchain‑enabled payments infrastructure out of stealth. The funding will fuel engineering, a Singapore office and selective acquisitions as the company seeks to grow its...
Visa Canada and RemitBee Team to Simplify Cross-Border Payments
Visa Canada has partnered with Canadian fintech RemitBee to embed Visa Direct into the remittance platform, enabling real‑time payouts to bank accounts, digital wallets and Visa cards in more than 190 countries and 150 currencies. The integration gives credit unions...
Banks Redefine Yield: From Rebates to Staking Rewards
Banks aren't giving up on banning passing yield to consumers. 😡 For them, the stablecoin yield debate now moves to "what counts as evasion?" It is now about what counts as yield? Fee rebates? Rewards points? Trading incentives? Staking rewards? --...
Banks Are Building the Trust Layer AI Can’t Break
Banks, payment firms and digital platforms are moving from siloed KYC/KYB checkpoints to an “ID supply chain” model that spreads identity verification, risk signals and data across multiple participants. The shift is driven by AI agents, automated bots and embedded...