Missing Community Banks Sparks Call for Mega Deposit Insurance
I sure miss the days when new bank formations were a group of citizens coming together to fund economic growth for their communities. Is this why there’s a push for mega deposit insurance?
ARMs Offer $150 Monthly Savings, Biggest Discount Since 2022
"The typical homebuyer would save $150 per month taking out an adjustable-rate mortgage instead of a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. That’s a 5.8% discount, the biggest ARM users have had since June 2022 in both dollar and percentage terms." -Redfin
Bank Lending Shifts: NBFIs Grow 60%, Corporates
Since 2019, bank lending to non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) has grown by nearly 60% vs only about 20% to non-financial corporations. Divergence has widened since mid-2022 when corporate lending stagnated while NBFI lending continued to rise steadily https://t.co/QEUhoq4feU
Fintech Must Prioritize Precision Over Speed in Emerging Markets
Fintech strategies that work in developed markets often break in emerging ones. Volatile currencies, fragmented identity systems and shifting regulations force a completely different level of precision in how products are built and operated. What looks like speed in one market...
Finance Bots Are Now Negotiating for Customers
#FlashbackFriday In 2020, I suggested the future of finance would be bots negotiating with bots on behalf of customers. That future feels rather closer now. https://t.co/aAxDaqNeF0 Yesterday’s future. Progress optional.
Investors Skeptical After HDFC Chairman’s Sudden Resignation
Hours after the startling resignation of HDFC Bank’s chairman, executives hastily arranged a call to assure investors that all was well, and there was nothing material in Atanu Chakraborty’s abrupt departure. Investors weren’t buying it. https://t.co/aeAiEMP7A8 @ranjanir_
Employee-Owners Revived a Failing Bank Against Odds
Back in 2009, I joined a troubled bank. Our Texas ratio hit over 200% and we were the worst performing bank in Oklahoma. Despite being unable to raise capital, our employee-owners scrappily turned around and rebuilt the pre-statehood bank. ...
Exciting News Ahead: Stay Tuned for Updates
📣📣📣📣📣📣📣
Southeast Asia's Mass Affluent Opens New Wealth Advisory Market
🌏Capturing Asia’s rising wealth: A massive opportunity has opened to advise #SoutheastAsia’s growing mass affluent segment, which domestic banks have struggled to penetrate. Thanks to @FT_PWM for publishing Liam Reeve’s and my insights: https://t.co/r16mLZ2lEB #WealthManagement #PrivateBanking #WealthTech
US Private Credit Defaults Slip to 5.4%
FITCH: U.S. private credit default rate declined to 5.4% for the trailing-12 months through February. This is down from the January peak of 5.8%.
30
I'd say a 6.50% 30-year fixed seems like a foregone conclusion at this point. When not if... That'd be the first time rates were that high since last summer. Pretty sure the housing market can't handle a return to 7%, not...
Klarna: Potential 5x Upside Amid Subprime Risks
Klarna: 5x Opportunity or a Subprime Lender? $KLAR offers a uniquely asymmetrical profile: - Beat Down Stock - Expanding into Banking - Strong Growth - Potential for improving profits https://www.globalequitybriefing.com/p/klarna-5x-opportunity-or-a-subprime?r=39awso&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Capital Exodus Mirrors Past Crises, Timing
FWIW - I can't think of a more ill-timed moment to enable capital to exit the banking system. Then again, I saw this in the late 1990's and right before the housing crisis. https://t.co/BElQudhOBb
Predictive Analytics Flagged BVNKFinance Before Mastercard Deal
Crunchbase called it. Three months ago, we flagged @BVNKFinance as a likely acquisition target, & @Mastercard just announced plans to acquire it for up to $1.8B. That’s the power of predictions — you can spot opportunities early & move before competitors....
Rising Defaults and Funding Costs Squeeze Credit Card Margins
It was once thought that as defaults rose, credit card issuers would simply increase the rate they charge to compensate for that. Hard to see that now, given current portfolio yields. Worse, their cost of funds is rising...
Deregulation Inevitably Triggers Later Re‑regulation, Says Regulators
Just a reminder that when it comes to bank regulation, what is deregulated on the way up is inevitably reregulated on the way down. Love them or hate them, there is no trend following crowd like our banking regulators.
Don't Let Iran War Stall Bank Deregulation
It's important not to let the war in Iran get in the way of deregulating giant banks. https://t.co/bOsbNAHMUC
ECB Holds Rate at 2% Amid War‑Driven Risks
#ECB leaves deposit rate at 2.00% as expected. Says war poses upside inflation risks, downside growth risks. Says to decide based on core inflation, transmission strength. Says not pre-committing to particular rate path. https://t.co/9tExdmlBDB
Card Spending Rises 5% YoY, Gas Spikes 14%
BofA: Total card spending was up 4.9% y/y in the week ending Mar 14 while total card ex gas spending was also up a solid 4.3% y/y ... gas spending +14.4% YoY https://t.co/wW3Jif21Sp
Airwallex Invests $1.1B to Expand Across Europe
European fintech News: Airwallex commits $1.1 billion to European expansion, with Spain and Sweden in its sights. The cross-border payments company plans to invest significantly in Europe over the next five years, marking its most substantial push outside the Asia-Pacific...
Quantum-Ready Infrastructure Secures Future Payments
Today at #MPE2026 with my @chyppings hat on: Future-proofing Payments with Quantum-Ready Infrastructure' examining what quantum means for payments security, and what needs to happen next. 📍 19 March | 12:45–13:45 | Main Stage (Potsdam I) @mpecosystem #MPEBerlin #ILoveMPE https://t.co/bxOPVlv53L
Early Paper Predicted Today’s Ambient Financial Accountability
Wow. Ten years ago. Birch, D., Brown, R. G., and Parulava, S. (2016). "Towards ambient accountability in financial services", Journal of Payments Strategy & Systems 10(2). https://t.co/HQRpD3fj8A https://t.co/Hpv4NOqOgE
Tempo Mainnet Launches with AI and Finance Giants
Tempo mainnet is live. Anthropic, OpenAI, Shopify, Mastercard, and Visa are already on it. 🏦 https://lnkd.in/eiRhP6rS
AI Agents Poised to Capture Up to 25% E‑Commerce
J.P. Morgan & Mirakl Nexus Unveil AI Agent Checkout A first-of-its-kind solution designed to enable secure AI agent checkouts for enterprise merchants. J.P. Morgan’s tokenization and fraud protection to allow agents to move from "browsing" to "buying" within a regulated framework....
Bank AI Advances, yet Human Support Stuck on Hold
Debit card eaten by ATM after 2 incorrect PINs. I have been 17 min deep in phone hell: 'All agents busy, please hold...' repeat forever. Agentic AI can reason & act autonomously, but my bank's hold music can't even connect me to...
Refinance Demand Drops 19% as Rates Surge
#Mortgage refinance demand plunges 19% after interest rates shoot higher https://t.co/qypWBX8GTm @mortgagenewsmnd @MBAMortgage #realestate #realestateinvesting #housing
Robot Money Will Redefine All Financial Services
The Marchine Payments Protocol @mpp shows you again, and again, where the world is going Everyone, from @stripe to @coinbase to @Shopify to @Mastercard and @Visa and @ethereum wants to be robot money Assume we arrive there. What do financial services look...
ECB Approves Tokenized Assets as Central Bank Collateral
YES BUT: ECB paves way for acceptance of DLT-based assets as eligible Eurosystem collateral 1. The Collateral Conundrum: "Eligibility vs. Scale" The ECB Move (Demand): By accepting DLT-based assets as collateral for credit operations, the ECB has given tokenized assets the...
Deposit Insurance Deep Dive Recorded at Cato Institute
Podcasting at the @CatoInstitute headquarters with @EconWithNick & @norbertjmichel was just the coolest as we talk about deposit insurance.
Neobanks Fuel Hiring Surge While Entering New Markets
Neobanks expanding into new markets, Source: CB Insights, Mar 2026 Fintech hiring is happening as neobanks continue to expand with different strategies https://t.co/qKcdGMmycZ https://t.co/rO2bQPQw7W
From Attention to Intention: Building the Machine Payments Protocol
Every ad impression, every recommendation algorithm, every retargeting pixel — all of it monetizes the space where human intent is unclear. Agents collapse that space to zero. An agent arrives with a mandate. Get me X. Budget Y. Constraints Z. - No attention...
Practical Payment Innovations Target Real‑World Impact at MPE2026
Getting the afternoon underway at #MPE2026 in Berlin with a discussion about areas where practical innovation in payments might produce decent results. https://t.co/kb8dX1tuWo
Banks Must Anticipate Branching Trends to Thrive
The banks that succeed will be those that understand where branching is going and adapt early. Strategy informed by trends leads to better service and stronger institutions. https://t.co/jv4QFxFbyK
AI Revolutionizes Bank Lending, Says AFT Analytics CEO
[New Episode] AI Is Finally Fixing the Way Banks Lend Money. Interview with Wije Wijegoonaratna, CEO of @aftanalytics. Watch the latest episode now: https://t.co/xKHOgVkcA9 https://t.co/MfWWCseBft
AI-Driven Payments Reshape Traditional Finance and European Sovereignty
Two sessions today at #MPE2026 with my @chyppings hat on: Agentic Commerce & Payments - AI-to-AI payments and what this new frontier means for 'traditional' players. Payment Acceptance: Sovereignty & Geopolitics - Resilience, regulation and Europe’s payment sovereignty agenda.
Retail Shifts to Banking Amid Margin Pressure
𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 Pepkor Holdings stepping into financial services tells me two things: 1️⃣ Landscape is getting competitive 2️⃣ Retail margins are under pressure To achieve margin expansion, retail is shifting into banking, further fueling financialization. 𝗡𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀, SA’s banking/fintech space is...
Commission Guidance Beats Staff Letters in Enforceability
🧵This is #sec #cftc commission-level guidance, not staff-level, which makes it more enforceable than the statements and no-action letters the Crypto Task Force has been issuing since January. That is meaningful distinction. Staff guidance can be withdrawn or walked back...
Banking Leaders Must Keep Learning or Risk Stagnation
The biggest risk for banking leaders today is not disruption. It is standing still. In this episode, I discussed why continuous learning is the key to staying relevant in a rapidly changing industry. Watch the full episode: https://t.co/niO7fXOQML https://t.co/ypX1PHvuCB
Banks' Legacy Costs Stall AI Innovation
Lots of corporate dollars still go to maintaining legacy systems. It's hard to redirect that spend to new AI work. Banks feeling it, and not yet delivering the (AI) products that customers want ... https://t.co/N4HWKA2UML
Top Non‑Stripe Payment Solutions for Quick EIN Setup
what are the best non-stripe options to accept payments? trying Square for online payments (can never do PayPal I'd rather use crypto) but any other for quick setup with an EIN?
AI Agents Gain Expense Cards, Breaking Financial Limits
AI agents are getting expense cards. Ramp and Stripe are both building infrastructure that lets autonomous agents buy, spend, and transact end-to-end without a human in the loop. The ceiling on what agents can do has always been money. That...
Data, Not Models, Cause 40% AI Project Failures
40% of AI projects fail. Not the model. The data. Join me and Tim Brophy at @AmerBanker March 19 webinat to talk about what actually separates AI winners from the rest. 📅 4pm GMT/ 12pm ET https://t.co/HqHwsVzCsj
CFOs Treat Vendor Data Risks as Balance Sheet Threats
CFOs now view vendor exposure and data protection alongside balance sheet risk. Requiring: proactive risk management, clear board communication, and disciplined investment to protect operations and trust. https://t.co/RWvAWTo1ee
Stablecoins Threaten Deposits, Payments, and Liquidity for Community Banks
Stablecoins: What Community Banks Need To Know And Do Now Stablecoins won’t disrupt banks overnight, but they will pressure deposit economics, reroute payments value, and introduce new liquidity and operational risks. https://t.co/OZJUTRUWEc
Private Credit Defaults Surge to 9.2%, Outpacing 2008
Private credit default rate just hit 9.2%. That's higher than 2008 bank loan peaks. $1.8 trillion in assets, $100B in secondary liquidity. 18:1 mismatch. When exits close, panic starts. https://t.co/PTz3djlLMl
Banks Hoard Liquidity yet Shun Discount Window in Crises
The growing calls for Discount Window reform are being driven, in part, by a paradox in the post-GFC liquidity framework: banks are encouraged to hoard liquidity in normal times but hesitate to use it during stress. Details in my latest...
Mastercard Embeds Stablecoin Layer via $1.8B BVNK Acquisition
🚨 MASSIVE: Mastercard just acquired BVNK for $1.8B. This one hits different. --- BVNK had a rough road. Previous acqusitions that fell through. Competing against massive companies. But they made it. Now they're the stablecoin infrastructure layer inside the world's second-largest card network. 130+ countries....
Record US Private Credit Defaults Drive Gold, Silver Rally
Rising U.S. private credit defaults hit record 9.2% in 2025, signaling credit stress & shadow banking risks. This erodes confidence in paper assets, investors flock to hard money with no counterparty risk. Bullish for gold & silver as safe-haven hedges. https://t.co/TcCYRkMkIZ
Direct Lending Defaults to Hit 8% Amid AI, Leverage
Default rates in direct lending will climb to 8% amid AI disruption, high leverage and looming maturity walls within the software sector: Morgan Stanley. https://t.co/9GeL184Hjd
Your Deposits Fuel Bank Profits, Not Your Wealth
You deposit $10,000. They pay you $1 a year. Then they lend that same money out at 12%. Then lend it again. And again. One deposit can fuel up to $100,000 in loans through the banking system. All earning interest. None of...