Banking News and Headlines
Banking News and Headlines
Banking Pulse
EMAIL DIGESTS
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EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
The EU’s eIDAS 2.0 revision introduces a mandatory European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet that will let financial institutions exchange verified, portable credentials instantly. Key regulatory milestones are the July 2027 AMLR harmonisation and the December 2027 wallet‑mandate, which together replace 27 national KYC standards with a single framework. Banks, insurers and payment providers can turn this shift from a compliance checkbox into a growth engine by redesigning onboarding, fraud prevention and cross‑border services around the wallet. Hopae positions itself as a turnkey partner for this transformation.
The Philippine SEC released draft guidelines to end the 2021 moratorium on registering new online lending platforms (OLPs). The proposal outlines prudential, disclosure and market‑conduct standards, a single entity‑level certificate of authority, and a graduated asset‑based licensing fee effective 2027....
Vietnam’s upgrade to a secondary emerging market is spurring a surge of high‑net‑worth individuals, intensifying demand for sophisticated wealth services. Techcombank Private, crowned Global Finance’s Best Private Bank in Vietnam for 2026, leverages this trend with VND 428 trillion in assets under...
South Indian Bank launched EPF payment services on its SIBerNet internet‑banking platform on March 12, 2026, in partnership with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation. The integration creates a direct payment channel, letting employers remit statutory contributions without leaving the EPFO portal. The...
Regulators in California and New York have issued urgent cyber‑risk bulletins as the Iran‑Israel war heightens threats to the financial sector. The DFPI and NYDFS urge banks to strengthen defenses, review incident‑response plans, and monitor supply‑chain traffic. Major institutions such as...
On 12 March 2026 the FCA released its annual Retail Banking Regulatory Priorities report, replacing traditional portfolio letters. The guidance stresses filling cash‑access gaps, ensuring digital‑first transformations do not harm vulnerable customers, and meeting basic‑bank‑account rules. It also requires firms to sharpen...
Truist Financial announced a partnership with Plaid to broaden its open‑banking capabilities, adding Plaid’s API network to the bank’s digital platform. The collaboration follows Truist’s recent integration with Mastercard’s open‑finance technology and aims to improve data quality, fraud detection, and...
CardFlight announced the SwipeSimple App Marketplace, debuting March 16 with three curated applications—QuickBooks Online Sync, Appointments scheduling, and Text Loyalty & Reviews—available to its more than 125,000 merchants. The marketplace aims to embed accounting, booking, and loyalty tools directly into...
The United Kingdom’s banking sector is actively seeking to curb its dependence on Visa and Mastercard, citing strategic and economic vulnerabilities. European initiatives such as the Wero digital wallet aim to provide an alternative, but they currently lack full EU...
Saudi Arabia’s banking sector, overseen by SAMA, has evolved into a $1.5 trillion‑plus powerhouse anchored by a mix of legacy institutions and fast‑growing digital challengers. Al Rajhi Bank remains the world’s largest Shariah‑compliant bank with nearly $300 billion in assets, while the Saudi...
IDB Invest will provide a 540 billion‑guaraní loan to Banco Familiar to finance Paraguayan microentrepreneurs through the EKO digital wallet. The funding comes from IDB Invest’s local‑currency bond issuance program, marking a first for multilateral participation in Paraguay’s bond market. Banco...
Financial institutions are urging federal rule changes and cross‑sector data sharing to combat AI‑enabled fraud. Panelists highlighted the need for banks, telecoms and social‑media platforms to exchange real‑time signals, creating a unified view of fraud networks. Current safe‑harbor protections under...
Wizz Financial announced the completion of its first stablecoin‑powered cross‑border remittance, sending funds from the United States to 80 countries using BitGo’s wallet and eTrade services. The transaction showcases the launch of Wizz’s proprietary stablecoin and blockchain strategy via the...
Santander and Visa have launched Latin America’s first end‑to‑end agentic commerce pilot, completing real‑world transactions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay using Visa Intelligent Commerce. AI agents bought chocolates in Brazil and books in the other markets, proving that...
HM Treasury and the European Commission released a joint statement documenting the fifth EU‑UK Financial Regulatory Forum held on 11 March 2026. The forum, created under the 2023 UK‑EU Memorandum of Understanding on Financial Services Cooperation, focused on deepening regulatory alignment across...
Payment infrastructure provider Akurateco announced a strategic partnership with Latin American payments firm Kushki to broaden PSP connectivity across the region. The deal integrates Kushki’s suite of local payment rails into Akurateco’s Payment Hub, giving merchants, PSPs and fintechs a...
The FCA has warned second‑charge mortgage lenders and brokers to raise standards after a review uncovered weak affordability checks, inappropriate debt‑consolidation advice, poor record‑keeping and opaque fees. The sector, which serves borrowers with high debt and low resilience, accounts for...
Zelle has partnered with Bank of America to launch a charitable‑disbursement service for donor‑advised funds, replacing slow ACH and check processes with instant transfers. The proof‑of‑concept uses BofA’s Charitable Gift Fund, which last year distributed over $1.3 billion through more than...
Zelle has partnered with Bank of America to route charitable disbursements from donor‑advised funds through its network, delivering near‑real‑time grant payments to nonprofits. ACI Worldwide reports only 26% of bill‑pay platforms consider themselves future‑ready, though 80% view the technology as...
Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman told BGMEA leaders that pending export cash‑incentive payments will be processed within the same month, aiming to ease manufacturers’ liquidity crunch. The guarantee comes as garment factories face cash shortages from frozen deposits at...
Equity Group Holdings, led by James Mwangi, has turned Africa’s banking exclusion into a growth engine, scaling from a modest building society to a $16.5 bn balance‑sheet institution. By targeting low‑income earners, small farmers and micro‑entrepreneurs, the bank now holds up...
Brazil’s instant payment platform PIX, handling billions of transactions monthly, is being targeted by a new Android malware called PixRevolution. The threat uses an agent‑in‑the‑loop model, displaying a fake loading screen while a human or AI operator swaps the recipient’s...
Mambu has partnered with Nyla, Africa’s first Islamic neobank, to supply an API‑first, AWS‑hosted core banking platform for its Ghana launch slated for June 2026. The collaboration enables Nyla to roll out digital wallets, peer‑to‑peer transfers and bill payments without...
European banks are increasingly putting regulatory compliance ahead of payment user experience, according to Aqua Global’s survey of 150 IT leaders. Seventy‑seven percent say compliance demands outweigh customer needs, and 67% devote more time to meeting new rules than enhancing...
TD Bank announced a new embedded banking solution that integrates directly with Workday’s cloud‑based ERP for U.S. business clients. The service lets companies access credit, payments and cash‑management tools within Workday’s workflow, reducing manual hand‑offs. Early adopters will receive a...
Fintech challengers are adding new banking and investment accounts faster than traditional banks, driven by streamlined digital onboarding and mobile‑first experiences. The J.D. Power report shows mass‑market customers gravitating toward neobanks, with Chime leading checking‑account acquisition and SoFi posting the...
Michelle Bowman opened a roundtable on the U.S. bank liquidity framework, reviewing the Liquidity Coverage Ratio, Net Stable Funding Ratio, internal stress testing and resolution planning. She argued that fifteen years after the financial crisis, these tools often create excess...
Standard Bank Group reported a R14.1 billion spend on cloud, software and technology in 2025, an 8.7% year‑on‑year rise that lifted tech costs to roughly 14% of total operating expenses. At the same time, capitalised software outlays fell 28%, signalling a...
Finch Capital’s latest report reveals that Europe’s fintechs remain heavily dependent on US investors for later‑stage financing, with all rounds above €1 bn in the past five years led by US capital. Without that support, a €9 bn funding gap would emerge,...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under Acting Director Russell Vought, continues to issue regulatory guidance and defend select legacy rules despite a near‑absence of formal examinations or investigations. Former CFPB senior counsel Richard Horn notes that the agency’s Regulation Office...
Professor Partha Ray closed the International Conference on Digitalisation for Inclusive Finance and Sustainability by emphasizing that digital tools are means, not ends. He identified three strategic shifts: moving from mere access to capability and confidence, from fast to fair...
Singapore's Monetary Authority (MAS) has issued new Environmental Risk Management guidelines that focus on climate transition planning for banks, insurers and asset managers. The rules require firms to embed forward‑looking climate risk assessments, governance structures and client engagement into their...
Tiff Macklem warned that the financial system’s growing reliance on non‑bank players is creating new systemic vulnerabilities, especially through hedge‑fund leveraged trading in sovereign bonds and the rapid expansion of private credit. He highlighted that hedge funds now purchase up...
Lloyds Banking Group’s mobile apps briefly displayed other customers’ transaction histories on the morning of 12 March 2026. The glitch affected users of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland apps before being resolved within minutes. The incident has reignited parliamentary...
Slice, the Indian fintech‑to‑bank, has appointed former State Bank of India risk chief Sreedevi Pillai as an Independent Director on its bank board. Pillai brings 36 years of banking leadership, notably in operational risk and fraud‑detection frameworks. The move follows the...
Banks and payment networks are deploying artificial intelligence to reshape credit‑card rewards, moving the battle from the checkout to an AI‑driven offers feed. By mining transaction histories and behavioral signals, issuers can generate merchant discounts and category bonuses that match...
The Indonesian House of Representatives appointed Friderica Widyasari Dewi as chair of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) following the January market crash triggered by an MSCI warning. The decision, made after a fit‑and‑proper test by Commission XI, also confirmed deputy...
Shawbrook Bank posted a pre‑tax profit of £340.5 million, up from £293.8 million, as its loan book expanded 20% to just under £20 billion and deposits rose 16% to £18.4 billion. The bank’s AI‑driven cost‑cutting pushed its cost‑to‑income ratio to 39%, down from 40.8%,...
The article highlights that Africa’s intra‑regional trade finance market exceeds $60 bn but remains vastly under‑served, with only 7‑25% of demand met. Post‑2008 regulatory changes pushed global banks to partner with local institutions, making regional banks the primary conduit for cross‑border...
Standard Bank Group posted record headline earnings of R49.2 billion for 2025, delivering a 19.3% return on equity at the top of its target range. Earnings were driven by strong performance across Africa Regions, which supplied 40% of profit, and robust...
NatWest Group announced a nationwide rollout of Mid‑Market Champions, assigning a dedicated advocate to each of the UK’s 12 nations and regions. The move follows research showing 90% of midsized firms desire regional leadership to accelerate growth and influence policy....
Amazon Web Services’ 2026 "Banking on the Cloud" report declares cloud computing a strategic foundation for modern banks. It outlines six trends—agentic AI, hyper‑personalised experiences, unified data platforms, ecosystem banking, resilient infrastructure, and modular architectures—that together reshape operations and product...
IDB Invest’s Impact Management Framework tracks outcomes of its operations, and its latest Client Impact DEBrief details a partnership with Chilean bank Caja La Araucana. The initiative targets underserved segments, notably pensioners and women, by expanding credit access and streamlining...
Rocket Pro’s chief revenue officer Austin Niemiec announced a partnership‑first strategy aimed at easing long‑standing tension between the two wholesale mortgage giants, United Wholesale Mortgage and Rocket. He highlighted the company’s new technology platform, which lets brokers retain full data ownership...
India’s neobank Fi is winding down the banking layer of its platform after four years of partnership with Federal Bank. The move forces its 3.5 million customers to access their savings accounts via Federal Bank’s FedMobile app instead of Fi’s interface....
Approximately 16% of active first‑lien mortgages in the United States also carry second liens, representing $522 billion in outstanding balances, according to Experian’s Mortgage Loan Performance data. The new loan‑level visibility into these secondary claims gives agency MBS investors clearer insight...
PayPal Holdings announced a strategic pivot for 2026, concentrating on strengthening its branded checkout services. Chief financial and operating officer Jamie Miller said the company will shift from broad portfolio scaling to a targeted approach that supports its largest merchants....
Lower Mortgage, formerly AmeriHome, offers a wide array of loan products across 100 locations in 47 states, but many options are not listed online. In 2024 the lender posted a higher‑than‑median mortgage rate of 6.625 % and a total loan‑cost of...
Mastercard announced two strategic moves to broaden its revenue beyond card fees: a live agentic commerce test in Malaysia using its Agent Pay platform, and the launch of a global Crypto Partner Program that enlists over 85 cryptocurrency firms. The AI‑driven...
Radian Group announced it will wind down its mortgage conduit business rather than pursue a sale, halting new originations in early April. The non‑agency conduit, launched in July 2022, generated $2.2 billion in securitizations but posted a $16.4 million adjusted pre‑tax loss...
