Today's Banking Pulse
Mortgage refinance demand plunges 18% as rates climb to 6.65%
Refinance applications fell 18% week‑over‑week, dropping to 38% of total mortgage filings—the lowest share since June 2025. The average 30‑year fixed rate rose to 6.65%, while purchase‑loan volume edged down 0.4% and the average loan size hit $473,600.
Also developing:
By the numbers: OakNorth acquires Monite to boost business banking
Why Bank Transactions Stay Pending (And What’s Happening Behind the Scenes)
Bank transactions often appear as pending because they undergo separate authorization and settlement phases, batch processing, and multiple security checks. Delays are especially common for interbank transfers, international wires, and check deposits, which may be held for several business days. Merchant practices such as temporary holds further extend the pending period, while system outages can cause occasional slowdowns. Understanding these mechanisms helps consumers manage expectations and avoid unnecessary friction.
Santander Plans SRTs on UK, US Loans Amid Acquisition Spree
Banco Santander is arranging two large synthetic risk transfers (SRTs) to offload more than $1.33 billion of UK commercial‑real‑estate loans and about $2 billion of US corporate loans. The moves aim to free capital ahead of its $12 billion acquisition of Webster Financial...
Trump Administration Scales Back Plan to Dismantle Consumer Protection Bureau
The Trump administration has filed a court request to dismiss over half of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s remaining staff, scaling back from earlier plans to cut 90% and shut down the agency. Acting director Russell Vought, who halted most...
U.S. Bank Adds Built to Manage Construction Loan Activity
U.S. Bank has partnered with Built Technologies to automate its construction‑loan workflow using Built’s AI‑driven Draw Agent platform. The integration promises faster funding, with draw times potentially improving up to 70%, and offers borrowers real‑time visibility into draws, inspections, and...
EDX Becomes Latest Crypto Firm Seeking Banking Status
EDX Markets has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become a de novo national trust bank. The charter would limit the bank’s activities to custody, asset‑management and risk‑less principal trading while the exchange continues...
Deutsche Bank to Provide £925m Senior Loan for Olympia Redevelopment
Deutsche Bank has agreed to provide a £925 million senior loan to finance the redevelopment of London’s Olympia exhibition centre. German investors backing the project will contribute an additional £500 million in equity as part of the refinancing package. The combined funding...
BDx Secures $320m Loan Facility for Indonesia Data Center Build-Out
BDx Data Centers has closed a $320 million loan facility led by Bank Permata, BCA and KB Bank to fund its Indonesia expansion. The financing will support the AI‑focused CGK3 campus in Jakarta, upgrade high‑voltage power at the CGK4 and CGK5 sites,...
Facephi Expands LATAM Behavioral Biometrics Footprint with New Banking Contract
Facephi has signed a five‑year deal with an unnamed Central American bank to deploy its mule‑account detection and behavioral biometrics platform across the institution’s operations. The solution will monitor the full customer lifecycle, targeting synthetic identities, organized fraud networks and...
EIB Lends €60m for Grid Operations in Andorra
On April 1, 2026, the European Investment Bank approved a €60 million (approximately $65 million) framework loan to support Andorra’s energy transition. The first tranche of €30 million has already been disbursed to finance renewable generation, grid upgrades, and district heating and cooling...
FCA Confirms the Increase to FOS Award Limits
The Financial Conduct Authority has approved higher award limits for the Financial Ombudsman Service, effective 1 April 2026. The maximum payout for complaints arising from actions on or after 1 April 2019 will rise to £455,000 (approximately $580,000), while older complaints will see a...
Record of the Financial Policy Committee Meeting on 27 March 2026
On 1 April 2026 the Bank of England published the record of its Financial Policy Committee meeting held on 27 March 2026. The minutes provide a detailed account of the committee’s assessment of financial‑system risks, macro‑prudential policy settings and upcoming regulatory priorities. By releasing...
Stablecoin AI Payment Hype Crashes as Volumes Plummet
Stablecoin Firms Bet Big on AI Agent Payments That Barely Exist Stripe co-founder Collison projects "torrent of agentic commerce" on crypto rails: 24/7 settlement at <$0.01 per transaction = structural advantage vs card networks on micro-payments. Reality check: x402 volumes dropped...
BoE Systemic Risk Survey Results – H1 2026
On 1 April 2026 the Bank of England released its Systemic Risk Survey for the first half of 2026, gathering responses from 57 firms – a 66 % participation rate. Respondents expressed unchanged confidence in the stability of the UK financial system compared...
BoE and the PRA’s Response to HMT, DSIT and DBT on AI in Financial Services
On April 1, 2026 the Bank of England and the Prudential Regulation Authority issued a formal response to a joint letter from the Chancellor, the Secretary for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Secretary for Business and Trade. The BoE/PRA pledged to...
PRA CP6/26 / FCA CP26/12: High Loan to Income Lending
On 1 April 2026 the FCA and PRA released a joint Consultation Paper proposing to scrap the 15% high loan‑to‑income (LTI) cap for individual lenders while keeping the aggregate exposure at roughly 15%. The regulators suggest firms can set their own high‑LTI...
Fed's Barr: Weakening Oversight Risks 'Race to the Bottom'
Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr warned that the current deregulatory push, especially cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, could trigger a systemic "race to the bottom." He highlighted that the CFPB has lost roughly one‑third of its workforce, eroding...
US Department of Treasury Requests Feedback on Stablecoin Legislation, the GENIUS Act
The U.S. Treasury has opened a notice‑and‑comment rulemaking to solicit feedback on implementing the GENIUS Act, which legalizes payment stablecoins. The agency proposes that issuers with up to $10 billion in outstanding stablecoins may be regulated at the state level if...
Bank of Hope to Buy SMBC Commercial Unit
Bank of Hope announced an all‑cash acquisition of SMBC Manubank’s California commercial banking unit, adding eight Southern California branches, roughly $2.5 billion in commercial and CRE loans and $2.7 billion in deposits. The deal, slated to close in the second half of...
Trustmark Names Next COO, CFO
Trustmark announced that longtime finance chief Thomas Owens will become chief operating officer on May 1, while industry veteran Joseph Bond will take over as chief financial officer. Owens, a 13‑year Trustmark veteran, previously served as CFO since 2021, overseeing capital...
Mesa West Capital Provides $81M Refi for Townhome Complex Outside Houston
Knightvest Capital secured an $81 million five‑year floating‑rate loan from Mesa West Capital to refinance the 313‑unit Domain Memorial townhome community near Houston. The loan will fund interior renovations and recent capital improvements, including an EV charging station and upgraded amenities....
BankCom Profit Hits All-Time High in 2025
BankCom posted a record net profit of PHP3.54 billion (≈$64 million) in 2025, a 17% jump from the previous year and nearly double its IPO‑year earnings. Gross revenues climbed 17% to PHP12.61 billion (≈$227 million), while net interest income rose 18% to PHP10.78 billion (≈$194 million)....
Credit Costs, LO Comp, Affordability Urgent Concerns in Capitol Hill Lobbying Effort
Mortgage trade groups are reconvening in Washington to push legislation on housing affordability, rising credit costs, and loan‑originator compensation. President Donald Trump’s recent housing executive order and two pending housing bills have heightened the urgency for coordinated lobbying. The National...
RBI Bans Banks From NDFs, Rebooking, Related‑party Forwards
Rbi saw that banks moved their positions to corporates or perhaps related parties and have said: Banks can't offer ndf rupee contracts to anyone If you close a contract from now, no rebooking, even if it's a deliverables contract. Banks can't deal...
Bowman Says Capital Changes Will Fuel Small-Business Lending
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michele Bowman unveiled a proposed capital framework that could free up to $100 billion for small‑business lending by lowering risk‑weightings on bank assets under Basel III. The change targets community and regional banks that hold roughly...
A Year Into VAMP, Visa Issues New Dispute Resolution Tools
Visa has launched six AI‑enhanced dispute‑resolution services, marking the first major update since the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) went live. VAMP consolidates five fraud programs into one, with enrollment triggered when a merchant’s chargeback ratio exceeds 1.5% or an...
PayPal Board Lures Ex-Square Executive
PayPal announced the appointment of Alyssa Henry, former Square CEO, to its board, replacing departing member Gail McGovern. The move coincides with the recent promotion of Enrique Lores, ex‑HP CEO, to PayPal’s chief executive role after Alex Chriss’s abrupt exit....
Moody’s: Bank NDFI Exposure Grows to $1.4trn at Year-End 2025
Moody’s forecasts that large U.S. banks’ loans to non‑depository financial institutions (NDFIs) will total about $1.4 trillion by the end of 2025, marking a rapid expansion of this asset class. The exposure represents roughly a 30 percent increase from current levels and...
CASS 15: What Payment Firms Need to Know About the New Safeguarding Rules
The FCA has launched CASS 15, a sweeping overhaul of safeguarding rules for payment institutions and e‑money firms, moving them from the lighter‑touch PSR regime into the stricter Client Assets Sourcebook. The new framework mirrors CASS 7 requirements, demanding segregated customer...
Middle East War Lifts Fixed
Most Fixed Mortgage Rates Are Now In The 4% Range: What Should People Do? The War In The Middle East drove up Canada Bond Yields & therefore drove up Fixed Rates 5 - Yr 4.04% - 4.29% Variable Rate Mortgages now look...
Postal Savings Banks
Postal savings banks, once vital for low‑income workers, traditionally funneled deposits into government bonds rather than offering full‑service lending. The model peaked with institutions like Japan Post Bank, which in 2025 held roughly $1.3 trillion in deposits—about 20% of Japanese household...
Rep. Hill Blames the Senate for Failing to Pass Bank Relief
House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill warned that two of his key banking reform bills—targeting digital assets and community‑bank relief—remain stalled in the Senate. He urged community‑bank lenders to pressure their senators to restore the stripped‑out provisions in the...
RBI Says 98.45 Pc of Withdrawn Rs 2,000 Banknotes Returned
The Reserve Bank of India reported that 98.45% of the Rs 2,000 banknotes withdrawn in May 2023 have been returned to the system. The original stock of Rs 2,000 notes, worth roughly $43 billion, fell to about $660 million by March 31 2026. Exchange facilities at 19...
Mortgage Applications Plunge 10% Weekly, Purchase Demand Slides 3%
Mortgage applications decreased 10.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey ... The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent from one week earlier.
Red‑team Your AI: Guard Against Fraudsters and Edge Cases
Your AI harness needs to handle adversarial inputs Financial services aren't just about helpful customers asking good-faith questions It's fraudsters, edge cases, and people trying to break your system for profit. If your testing doesn't include red-teaming, you're not ready
UPI Records Highest Monthly Transactions at 22.6 Bn in March
India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed a record 22.64 billion transactions in March 2026, the highest monthly volume since its 2016 launch. Volume grew 24% year‑on‑year, while total transaction value rose to ₹29.53 lakh crore (approximately $356 billion). Daily averages edged up to 730 million...
Lucid Trading Signals New Regulatory Role in Prop Trading
Interesting development with AJ from Lucid Trading hinting at a regulatory role 👀 The prop trading landscape keeps evolving - always important to stay informed about who's overseeing what. Check https://t.co/pKoy2KH6Y5 for the full picture on all firms and their...
Startups Swarm Mercury for Business and Personal Banking
LOVE @mercury for business banking services (not an investor but wish I was). 90%+ of startups I work with use them (including myself) and they now have personal banking services... so good.
DTCC Launches Rapid Issuance
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) unveiled Rapid Issuance, a new service on its Underwriting Central platform that automates the full lifecycle of equity‑linked structured notes. The solution enables issuers to complete closings within an hour, promising faster time‑to‑market,...
Mortgage Refinance Demand Drops over 40% in a Month
Weekly #mortgage refinance demand is down more than 40% in the past month https://t.co/KBjl0aRgH6 @MBAMortgage @mortgagenewsmnd #interestrates #economy
Cross River Bank Raises $50M To Accelerate AI And Crypto Expansion
Cross River Bank’s parent, CRB Group, secured a $50 million capital raise backed by existing investors and T. Rowe Price. The funds will accelerate the bank’s embedded‑finance platform, expanding AI‑driven operations, cryptocurrency infrastructure, and global market reach. Cross River aims to...
KBRA Direct Lending Deals: News & Analysis – 3/30/2026
KBRA published its latest Direct Lending Default Indices covering the trailing twelve months through March 31, 2026, accompanied by a performance chart. The indices track default and recovery rates across private credit deals, showing a modest uptick in defaults compared with the...
IHC Invests $1 Billion for Majority Stake in India's Sammaan Capital
Global investment firm IHC has secured regulatory approval to acquire a 41.5% stake in Sammaan Capital Limited for roughly $1 billion (INR 8,850 cr). The deal, executed in stages, positions IHC as a promoter with board control, signaling a major push into India's...
Nigeria Wraps up $3.1 Bn Banking Recapitalisation, Paving Way for Stronger Credit Markets
Nigeria’s Central Bank announced the conclusion of its two‑year banking recapitalisation, with banks injecting N4.61 trillion (about $3.1 billion) of fresh capital. The move meets higher minimum capital thresholds and is expected to deepen liquidity, improve risk‑taking capacity and attract more foreign...
JPMorgan Mulls Prediction Market Services for Investors
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told CBS Evening News the bank is exploring the launch of prediction‑market services for its clients. The move could blur lines between gambling and investing and draw heightened regulator attention.
What Banks Get Wrong About Small Business Credit Cards
Banks are underselling small‑business credit cards by focusing on rates and fees while neglecting the operational tools owners value, such as expense separation, cash‑flow integration, and employee spending controls. The Javelin Strategy report shows many merchants already hold personal accounts,...
Ghana’s National ID Cards Can Now Make Payments
Ghana’s National Identification Authority has embedded a digital wallet into the Ghana Card, allowing holders to withdraw cash from ATMs, pay in stores and online, and conduct international transactions in over 200 countries. Cardholders can activate the wallet through the...
Sub‑6% Mortgage Rates Hit Lowest Since 2015
Q4 2025 NMDB data reveals that 78% of mortgaged homes have a rate below 6%, that's down from the peak of 93% in Q2 2022. The share of mortgaged homes with a rate below 6% is the lowest since 2015....
El Salvador Central Bank Launches 24/7 Banking Platform
El Salvador’s central bank launched Pay, a free 24/7 digital payment platform aimed at informal workers and small businesses. The system, already serving about 10,000 users, enables QR‑code payments, interbank transfers, and records income for future credit access. Users must...
Revolut’s $6B Revenue Masks Four Hidden Fault Lines
Revolut: $6B revenue. 38% margins. The North Star of banking. I found four fault lines that the earnings release doesn't mention. Full analysis on Substack / Subscribe 👇 https://t.co/kJ1iPnoooe https://t.co/B0plPkOngz
Morningstar DBRS Comments on First West Credit Union's Federal Continuance
Morningstar DBRS confirmed that First West Credit Union, now operating as Tru Cooperative Bank, received a federal charter effective April 1 2026. The agency left its BBB (high) long‑term issuer rating and R‑1 short‑term rating unchanged, though both carry negative trends. The...