Exclusive: Warren Says OCC Rule Limits Oversight to 5 Banks
Senator Elizabeth Warren warned that the OCC's proposed rule would raise the asset threshold for heightened oversight from $50 billion to $700 billion, effectively limiting strict supervision to just five banks instead of the agency’s estimate of eight. The rule would allow large regional banks, many of which struggled after the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, to bypass the most rigorous standards. Warren’s letter urges the OCC to withdraw the proposal, though the agency is unlikely to do so. Her stance signals renewed Democratic pressure on banking regulation ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Brazil Eyes New Credit Push
Brazil's Treasury Secretary Rogério Ceron announced a study of new credit measures targeting consumers not covered by the Desenrola debt renegotiation program. The plan would let borrowers with up‑to‑BRL 1,000 overdue balances settle for as little as BRL 150 in three installments,...
Colorado House Passes Interchange Ban on Local Taxes
Colorado’s House of Representatives voted 45‑19 to pass the Swipe Fee Fairness and Consumer Safeguards Act, which would prohibit banks from charging interchange fees on the sales‑tax portion of card transactions. The measure would be the second state law of...
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Void Transactions Vs. Refunds: Key Differences and Processes
A void transaction is a merchant‑initiated cancellation that occurs before the card network settles the charge, meaning funds never leave the cardholder’s account. These cancellations are typically processed the same day as the original purchase and are used to correct...
EBA Amends Guidelines on the Definition of Default
On 7 May 2026, the European Banking Authority issued a final report amending its Guidelines on the definition of default. The amendments clarify the past‑due treatment of non‑recourse factoring and align the guidelines with changes introduced by the Capital Requirements...
Morningstar DBRS Expected Loss Ratings
Morningstar DBRS has re‑published its Expected Loss Ratings framework, originally issued in December 2018, with only editorial and stylistic updates. The revised document details the Expected Loss Rating Scale and benchmarks for asset‑backed commercial paper (ABCP), auto loans, and residential mortgage‑backed...
Forget Rate Cuts — a Veteran Broker Says New Fed Chair Warsh Will Print Money Instead
Veteran mortgage broker Amir Nurani warns that new Fed chair Kevin Warsh is unlikely to cut rates, favoring higher rates and quantitative easing instead. Warsh’s track record shows opposition to the zero‑rate era during COVID and a preference for disciplined, inflation‑focused...
Bankruptcy Filing Ties Tieks CEO to Aspiration Scheme
A Los Angeles bankruptcy filing on April 20 adds Tieks CEO Kfir Gavrieli as an alleged recruiter of fake customers in the Aspiration Partners revenue‑fraud scheme. The motion, filed by his sister, claims Gavrieli signed sham letters of intent and received a...
Letters to the Editor Dated May 7, 2026
Letters to the editor on May 7, 2026 highlight three pressing Indian issues. The Reserve Bank of India disclosed roughly $4.2 billion in digital‑payment frauds for FY 2024‑25, prompting calls for stronger digital literacy and tighter KYC enforcement, especially for vulnerable and senior accounts....
Fed Needs Policy Clarity to Preserve Independence, G-30 Report Says
The Group of 30, led by former New York Fed chief William Dudley, issued a report warning that the Federal Reserve must sharpen its policy execution and communication to safeguard its independence amid political attacks. The think‑tank outlined eight recommendations, including a...
CASS 15: A Practical Guide to the New Safeguarding Rules
On 7 May 2026, the FCA’s new CASS 15 rules will overhaul how payment institutions, e‑money firms and credit unions safeguard client money. The regime raises the bar by requiring annual audits by registered audit firms, monthly FCA reporting, daily...
Colorado Advances a Measure to Eliminate Interchange Fees on Sales Tax
Colorado's legislature has passed a bill that would remove sales‑tax amounts from the interchange fee calculation for credit and debit card transactions. The measure, which mirrors aspects of Illinois’ Interchange Fee Prohibition Act but limits its scope to banks with...
Fed to Launch Roundtable to Fight Payment Fraud
The Federal Reserve, the FCC and the U.S. Treasury are creating a public‑private roundtable to tackle the growing threat of payment fraud, Vice Chair Michelle Bowman announced. The forum will review fraud‑prevention efforts, data‑sharing practices and cross‑sector solutions, drawing on...
Shift4 Shrugs Off Disruption From War in the Middle East
Shift4 Payments told investors that travel disruptions from the U.S.-Iran conflict had limited effect on its business. The company posted a 24% year‑over‑year rise in processing volume to $56 billion, driving gross revenue up 49% to $549 million, while net income fell...
Here’s Why Mastercard Is Betting Big on BVNK — and Stablecoin
Mastercard announced it will acquire stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK for a potential $1.8 billion, with the deal expected to close by the end of 2026. BVNK brings a portfolio of hard‑to‑obtain licenses and a network of liquidity providers that will allow...
InvestiFi Brings Investing to Summit Choice Members
Summit Choice Credit Union in Indiana has partnered with InvestiFi to embed investing directly into its digital banking platform. The integration lets the credit union’s 11,354 members buy stocks, ETFs and digital assets straight from checking accounts. A guided‑investing tool...
FSB Regional Consultative Group for the Commonwealth of Independent States Meets in Astana
The Financial Stability Board’s Regional Consultative Group for the Commonwealth of Independent States convened on May 5‑6, 2026 in Astana, hosted by Kazakhstan’s National Bank. Senior officials from central banks and regulators across the CIS examined global and regional financial vulnerabilities, foreign‑exchange...
Whistleblower Says Bank Fired Him After He Flagged Alleged Fraud on Fed
A former quality‑assurance associate at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. alleges he was fired after reporting material fraud in the bank’s KYC testing that allegedly masked fails to meet a 90% pass‑rate target. His internal whistleblower complaint triggered an external investigation...
UniCredit Agrees to Sell Parts of Russian Bank to UAE Investor
UniCredit announced a non‑binding agreement to sell most of its Russian banking operations to an unnamed private investor from the United Arab Emirates, while retaining its payments business in the country. The deal value was not disclosed, and the transaction...
Exclusive: NPCI Mandates New MCC for UPI Gift Cards, Caps Per-Transaction Limit at Rs 10,000
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has ordered all UPI and RuPay member banks and payment service providers to re‑classify gift‑card and voucher purchases under a new Merchant Category Code (MCC) 7016, effective by May 31, 2026. Previously, these transactions shared MCC 6540...
The EBA Consults on Amendments to the RTS on the Assignment of Risk Weights to Specialised Lending Exposures Under the...
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a public consultation on proposed amendments to its Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) for assigning risk weights to specialised lending exposures under the Supervisory Slotting Criteria Approach (SSCA). The changes aim to align the...
The Interplay Between Liquidity and Collateral
J.P. Morgan executives Eileen Herlihy, O’Delle Burke and Michael Wynn discuss how liquidity and collateral management are evolving as institutional investors seek to raise and preserve cash. They highlight the growing importance of intraday liquidity, the shift toward non‑cash collateral...
The EBA Amends Guidelines on the Definition of Default
The European Banking Authority (EBA) released a final report amending its Guidelines on the definition of default. It extends the past‑due period for non‑recourse factoring invoices from 30 to 90 days and confirms that the 1% net present value (NPV)...
Private Credit's Retail Boom Is Making Regulators Nervous
The Financial Stability Board warned that the $1.5‑$2 trillion private‑credit market is becoming increasingly vulnerable as retail investors now own roughly 13 % of assets. Default rates, modest at 1 % overall, rise to about 5 % when selective defaults are counted, matching high‑yield...
Brazil’s Itaú Sees Steady Credit Trends
Itaú Unibanco said its loan‑delinquency ratios are holding steady, with 90‑day overdue loans at 1.9% in Q1, unchanged from the prior quarter and a year earlier. The 15‑to‑90‑day overdue rate edged up to 1.7%, a modest rise from 1.6% in...
U.S. Bank Takes ‘Quieter’ Approach to Branch Expansion
U.S. Bank is pursuing a low‑profile branch expansion, allocating roughly $200 million a year to build or renovate locations rather than announcing large‑scale rollouts. The lender aims to deepen its footprint in markets where it already has brand awareness, targeting top‑depositor...
Beyond Payments: Why SMBs Need Both Contactless Acceptance and Modern Fraud Controls
SMBs must adopt contactless payment acceptance as consumer demand spikes, with Mastercard reporting over 75% of its 2025 transactions contactless. At the same time, credit‑card fraud rose 54% year‑over‑year in Q3 2025, and SMBs experience fraud rates 65% higher than...
LendingClub Rebrands to Happen Bank as Its Identity Catches up to Its Model
LendingClub announced it will rebrand as Happen Bank this summer, reflecting its evolution from a marketplace lender to a full‑stack digital bank. The name change follows the 2021 acquisition of Radius Bank, which gave the firm a banking charter and...
FCA Updates Guidance on Its Role Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and the Electronic Money Regulations 2011
On 7 May 2026 the Financial Conduct Authority issued version 8 of its approach document covering the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. The revision incorporates the latest safeguarding and resolution‑pack rules from CASS 15 and 10A, plus new audit and monthly‑return requirements...
Crypto Guidance Is a Step Forward, but only Congress Can Finish the Job
The SEC and CFTC issued joint interpretive guidance on digital assets in mid‑March, providing a taxonomy and clarifying how existing laws apply. The guidance narrows uncertainty around mining, staking and wrapped tokens but stops short of delivering statutory certainty. Industry...
Idempotency Is Easy Until the Second Request Is Different
The piece argues that true idempotency goes far beyond a simple replay cache; the real difficulty lies in handling a second request that arrives while the first is still processing or carries different data. It outlines scenarios such as concurrent...
How Banks Can Decode Crypto Compliance Risks
Banks can no longer ignore crypto exposure as customers increasingly hold digital assets and move funds through traditional channels. Cense has introduced a two‑step methodology—Detect and Decode—to first surface crypto activity and then rebuild a client’s full digital‑asset portfolio for...
HKMA Launches CargoX Pilot Programme to Expand Data-Driven Trade Finance
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched the CargoX Pilot Programme, enlisting 21 banks to test the use of cargo and trade data in trade‑finance workflows. The pilot will operate on the Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) platform, exploring data‑driven credit...
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card vs American Express Platinum Card: Which Fits You Better?
The Capital One Venture X and American Express Platinum are two premium travel cards that cater to different traveler profiles. Venture X carries a $395 annual fee, offers a $300 travel credit, 10× miles on hotels and rental cars, and simple...
Morgan Stanley Starts Bitcoin Trading On E*Trade At 0.5% Fee For 8.6 Million Users
Morgan Stanley has launched spot Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading on its E*Trade retail brokerage platform, targeting its 8.6 million client base. The pilot, announced on May 6, charges a 0.5% transaction fee, positioning the bank against fintech disruptors that offer crypto services....
UniCredit’s Lowball Bid for Commerzbank Causes Consternation
On May 5, 2026 UniCredit announced a bid to acquire the remaining shares of Germany’s Commerzbank, offering shareholders a swap of one Commerzbank share for 0.485 UniCredit shares. The proposal values the entire bank at €35 bn (approximately $41 bn), roughly 8% below...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...